The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 8 - Chapter 397

Chapter 397:

Contracts

“HOLD UP!” Garitt stopped me before I could talk. “First, let’s sign that contract. Whatever you have to say is probably important.”

He wanted me to sign the contract first, but its final provision had piqued my curiosity.

“As for that final provision, we would do everything in our power to help you flee in secret only if you asked us to, so there’s no need to erase that provision,” Fische explained, handing me a pen. I decided that meant it was okay to sign the contract. I looked at it nervously, but my father gave my head a gentle pat.

“It’s all right, Ivy.”

“Okay.”

I reread the contract. Aside from that final provision, it was the usual stuff. Maybe there was some template for contracts like this? With this question lingering in my mind, I signed both sheets of paper. One was for Garitt and his party, and the other was for my father and me.

“All right, now we’re all safe. It sure is strange for us to feel nervous about this—we’re just hearing your story.” Fische gave us a tired look, but I still didn’t like being talked to like that. “Okay, Ivy. What are you hiding?”

Since I had other things to tell them, I decided to just stick to the basics. “I’ll explain as simply as I can… I was recorded as a distinguished person—a person of merit—when I helped bring down a human trafficking organization in the town of Otolwa, where a nobleman was almost a victim. That was how I befriended that nobleman and some other distinguished persons. We’re all still good friends, sir.”

“What?!” all three men gasped.

Ah, Zinal is back to normal! Was my story really that shocking? Well, I guess it would be a big surprise to hear that a kid like me helped bring down a big crime organization and was named a person of merit.

“That story was short and sweet,” my father said, equally impressed.

Well, if you condensed down all the real details, my story works, doesn’t it? I looked back into my memory again and… Yeah, I covered everything.

“So you’re one of the people who brought down that crime organization that had its claws all the way to the royal family… That nobleman you mentioned, was it the honorable Lord Foronda?”

“Yes, sir. It was Lord Foronda.”

Oops! I should have added “the honorable” like he did. Between Rattloore and his party calling him “Lord Foronda,” and my earlier experience with the nobility being the village chief, I had been calling him just plain “Lord Foronda” without meaning to. I didn’t even notice I was doing it at first, and nobody corrected me, either… Well, it was still my fault. And after the crime organization was brought down, I was horrified to realize I had been talking to him so disrespectfully, but when I tried to address him with more formal language, Lord Foronda looked so heartbroken. He asked me if I didn’t like him anymore, and said he was sad that there was a wall between us, so I went back to the way I used to address him. And looking back on it, I didn’t even know if the village chief was a nobleman anyway. Maybe I only thought he was since he was the leader of the village.

“So you’re friends with his lordship? That is impressive.” Zinal’s eyes sparkled a little. I could have sworn I’d seen that look before, although I wasn’t sure where.

“Ivy, would he come to your aid if you needed him? We can help you get in touch with him somehow if you need it.”

“Oh, that won’t be necessary,” my father said. “Ivy and Lord Foronda are faax pals, and she also writes regularly to all the other distinguished persons who were involved in that situation.”

“Really?” Fische looked shocked. Was it really that unusual? Everyone seemed perfectly casual about sending me faaxes.

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

“Oh!” we all gasped.

I’d completely forgotten about Nalgath. Zinal hurried over to check on him. On the surface, he didn’t look any different from before.

“Sora, is Mr. Nalgath all right now?”

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

“Oh, good. Thank you. Great job, Sora.”

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

Since Sora said he was all right, he would wake up soon. But my goodness, it seemed like the summoning circle’s damage ran deep. It had taken longer to heal him than it had for Ciel, Zinal, or my father.

“Mm!”

Nalgath’s grunt brought silence to the room. I looked over and saw his eyes were faintly open…but then I couldn’t see him anymore because Zinal had flung his arms around him.

“Huh?! Wha…huh?” Nalgath murmured in confusion, then he frowned when he realized his father was hugging him…and then he looked bewildered. I could faintly hear Zinal crying. Nalgath didn’t know how to handle it.

“Nalgath, you were turned into an empty shell by a summoning circle’s magic,” Garitt explained. “Do you remember anything?”

“Summoning circle? Empty shell?” Nalgath shook his head.

“Do you know what’s happening to this village right now?” Fische asked.

Nalgath became lost in thought for a little while, then his eyes popped open and his face turned pale. “Yeah…I do know. We’re in a lot of danger. Why aren’t I doing anything about it?”

“Because you were under a spell that suppressed your sense of fear.”

Nalgath tried to sit up with Zinal’s arms still around him. With a start, Zinal released him. Then, after an embarrassed pause, Nalgath took his father’s hands to help himself get up.

“Are you okay? Do you feel unusual at all?” Zinal asked, carefully scrutinizing Nalgath’s face.

Nalgath looked slightly embarrassed as he finally shook his head. “I think I’m okay. Um, so…thanks.”

“Oh, I’m just glad you’re okay. Ivy, I cannot thank you enough.” Zinal bowed deeply to me.

“Mr. Zinal, please don’t bow. You’ve already thanked me more than I deserve.”

When Zinal looked up, his eyes were a little red. It was then that I realized just how scared he had been. Even though he trusted us, his fear for his son’s life would never completely go away. Zinal hid his emotions far too much. It was obvious from the way he looked now just how wrought with worry he had been. Garitt and Fische had probably known about it all along, though.

“Mr. Nalgath, can you sit down? We’ll tell you everything that’s happened.”

Come to think of it, does he remember what happened while he was under the spell?

“All right. And you are…um…oh! That’s right, you’re Mr. Druid and his daughter Ivy. I remember.”

So even if a person was under the spell long enough to be a shell of themselves, they still retained their memories.

“Nalgath, we need you to answer some questions honestly. Got it?”

“Yes, sir.”

Garitt sat across from Nalgath and began to question him. “Did you know that you were under the control of a summoning circle?”

“No, sir, I didn’t. All I remember is…feeling a sense that something was wrong all the time.”

“Do you remember seeing a summoning circle anywhere?”

“Um…no, sir.”

“Okay. Do you remember how long ago you started feeling something was wrong?”

“I think…it was about a year and a half ago. I remember that was when the guild master started acting strange…”

So that means the guild master has been under the summoning circle’s spell for a year and a half.

“Do you know anything about the captain of the watch?”

“The captain? I remember going to talk to him when I noticed something was off about the guild master. Then a little while later, I heard he had gotten sick.”

Was he really sick, though? After all that had happened, everything sounded suspicious to me.

“Um, sorry to be a bother, but I have some questions I’d like to ask, too…” Nalgath said.

Is it just me, or has Nalgath’s personality done a complete 180? Did the spell make him different? Or did the sight of Zinal’s tears change him? Hmm… Well, I only hope the two of them can patch things up.

“I’ve heard that if a person is under a summoning circle’s magic for too long, they lose their sense of self. And you said that I was a shell of myself earlier. So how did you bring me back?”

“Oh! Well, that’s because…”

“Stop there!”

Garitt stopped me.

“Nalgath, what you’re about to hear is top secret. We’ll need you to sign a contract. Are you all right with that?”

“I’ll sign. I’ll sign any contract you want me to. You saved my life. I’ll do anything you wish of me.”

Whoa, whoa, what’s this? He’ll do anything we wish of him? What exactly does he mean by that? Am I the only one who’s kind of freaked out by his train of thought?

“Sir, why do you already have a contract ready?!”

“I made one for my son and for his friends, too. They’re a bit standard, though, since I made them in a rush.”

I was right! There is a template!

“But why do you walk around with contracts in the first place?”

“We need them for work, you know.”

“Oh, now I get it. Goodness, you have quite a hard job.”

I guess that means not signing a contract while they’re on the job can get them in big trouble. Zephyr really does have a tough job.

“Okay, all signed.”

Agh…Nalgath already signed it. Just how many contracts am I gonna have to sign before the crisis in Hataka is over with?