The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 9 - Chapter 413

Chapter 413:

Be Patient!

SORA AND SOL were in extremely good moods. And they had been fidgety ever since Zinal’s party left to get the people to break free from the spell—clearly they were waiting impatiently for their dinner. Judging by how much they usually ate at the dump, I knew I didn’t give them as many potions to eat for their meals. After all, there was only so much I could fit in my magic bag. Maybe I should get another magic bag just for potions? As I watched the two excitedly doing their vertical stretches, I couldn’t help but think about it. Flame and Ciel, excited by Sol and Sora’s enthusiasm, had also been cheerfully bouncing off the walls of the room all morning.

“Looks like they can’t wait for their lunch,” my father said.

I nodded in reply, and Sora jiggled wildly when it heard the word “lunch.”

“Sora, no. I know it’s your lunch, but we shouldn’t make a big deal out of it. You, too, Dad.”

I hope they understood me.

“Pu! Pu, puu?”

Argh, guess they didn’t.

“Ha ha ha ha!”

Now Dad’s laughing it off. Oh, I give up.

I heard voices from the first floor; it sounded like everyone had arrived. At the sound of the captain’s voice, the first floor became lively in a flash. The plan was that Melisa would help the captain into a chair and serve everyone tea, but Eche informed us with a gleeful grin that she would drug it. The way she held the medicinal herbs in her hands was a little…er, very terrifying. After a little while, I heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

Knock, knock.

“We’re ready downstairs. You guys good?” Arly asked, sounding a bit worried.

“Pu! Pu, puuu!”

“Pefu! Pefu!”

Before I could reply, Sora and Sol answered boisterously. They aren’t drooling, I hope? I stole a worried glance at their faces. Thank goodness. No drool. I picked up the two slimes, walked them downstairs, and entered the room with four beds in it. My father followed after me. I looked up to see Flame was sitting on top of his head and Ciel was in his arms.

“Sorry there’s so many people, Sora and Sol. If it’s too much, you can stop anytime you want.”

Hmmm… Maybe I should tell him the truth. But can they really handle fifteen people? I hope they don’t stuff themselves…

“Don’t worry, Miss Ivy, we won’t work them too hard.” Juggy gave my head a pat as I entered the next room.

“Er, thanks, sir.”

I don’t have the heart to tell him I was worried they’d overeat… With an awkward smile, I set Sora and Sol on the first bed. Sol eagerly jumped onto the sleeping man’s head and swallowed it whole. If I had to guess, I’d say it was thinking, “Yahoo! Lunchtime!” Meanwhile, Sora was bouncing up and down next to Sol. I was worried Sol would get indigestion if I rushed it.

“Sora, be patient, okay?”

“Puuu.”

“Please, Sora.”

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

Good, I think that calmed it down.

“Does everything look okay?” Juggy asked, checking on Sol. The slime’s eyes were closed and it wasn’t moving. Since nothing was different from the day before, everything was probably fine.

“It’s all right, sir.”

As I watched Sol work for a while, there was a knock at the door. Arly went to open it and let the sub-vice-captain and Nalgath in. They were back from their quick survey of the forest.

“Sorry to bother you, but is Ciel ready to come out right now?”

Mew? Ciel chirped back with great interest from my father’s arms.

“To the forest, sir?”

“Yes, the monsters are at the village border. We don’t know how many there are, but there’s quite a lot of them. Will Ciel be all right?” The sub-vice-captain gave the adandara a concerned look. No matter how much we explained about Ciel’s true form, it looked identical to a slime right now. Of course he would worry. Sending it out alone into the forest to deal with who knows what kind of monster made me worried, too, even though I knew it was an adandara. But from the look of it, Ciel was excited about the whole thing. They do say adandaras are powerful creatures with battle mania.

“Will you be okay, Ciel?”

Mrrrow.

From the happy crack in its voice, it was clear Ciel would be all right.

“Ciel will be fine, sir.”

There was relief mixed with the sub-vice-captain’s worry now. Ciel’s outward appearance seemed to be making him utterly perplexed.

“What will we do about the guards?” my father asked the sub-vice-captain.

“Nalgath’s party, Cobalt, will take Ciel out into the forest. Then, once they’re out of view of the gatekeepers, Ciel will dispose of the monsters.”

Won’t that be really dangerous for Nalgath’s party? I looked at Nalgath, and he only smiled back at me.

“Don’t worry. We may not look like it, but we’re elite adventurers. We’ll manage somehow.”

“Are you sure, sir?”

Will they truly be okay, though? This kind of monster can extinguish its aura. I looked at Piarre, Arly, and Juggy, and none of them seemed worried. They had the eyes of heroes committed to their jobs.

Nalgath said nothing, but I understood him anyway. “I get it, sir. I’ll leave Ciel in your care. Could I come with you to the gate?” I said.

 I was still worried about Ciel.

“Sure, we don’t mind…”

“Don’t worry, I’m coming, too,” my dad said. “Sora and Sol should be okay here with Melisa and the captain looking after them.”

“Pu! Pu, puuu.”

Sora was puffing out its chest a little. I assumed it was trying to say it would be fine.

“So therapeutic…” somebody murmured.

Nalgath and his party nodded, while my father tried not to laugh.

“Well, we’ll just get our things ready and then head out to the front gate. Should we meet you there?”

“Yes, sir. My father and I will take Ciel there.”

Nalgath and his party would return to their shared house first to get ready for their expedition to the forest, so my father and I took our time taking Ciel to the gate. I left Sora and Sol in the captain and Melisa’s care. After the first four people were cured, the captain and Melisa would check on Sora and Sol’s condition before sending in the next batch. They would make sure the slimes were well enough between each healing session, so they assured me I didn’t need to worry.

“Thanks for taking care of them. We’ll be back soon.”

“See you later,” my father echoed.

“Be careful out there! Druid, if you sense anything strange, ditch Nalgath’s party if you have to.”

“Understood.” I clenched my jaw and suppressed the urge to object. It would be wrong of me to interfere with the adventurers in the line of duty.

“Let’s go,” my father said.

“Okay.”

As I took my first steps, my father gently patted my head. That alone was enough to make me feel safe. I softly tapped the bag containing Ciel and Flame, who had decided to tag along for some reason.

“Just don’t push yourself too hard out there, okay?”

The bag jiggled faintly in reply. I knew Ciel would be all right.

“Good morning,” my father greeted the gatekeepers, who welcomed us with a smile. “We’d like to go check on the forest, if we may.”

“Of course, sir. Nothing much has changed.”

We took the gatekeeper’s cue to have a look at the forest from the gate. Just as the sub-vice-captain had said, we could sense something right on the outskirts of the village. That was unsettling, since only elite adventurers had been able to feel it up until then.

“How creepy…” The mysterious something out there made me shiver all over.

“You can say that again.”

Since even I could sense whatever it was, it was clear just how close the danger had homed in on us. We looked at the gatekeepers. They were peering out into the forest as well, but they didn’t seem to sense anything at all. In fact, they were laughing and chatting while the forest’s alien aura surrounded us all. 

Something icy cold ran down my spine. I felt sick.

“Sorry we’re late.”

As Nalgath greeted us, Arly called the gatekeepers aside to talk, corralling them away from us. Meanwhile, I took Ciel out of my bag and handed it to Nalgath.

“Okay, Ciel, today is your day to shine,” Nalgath said.

Ciel jiggled in reply. It couldn’t speak since the gatekeepers were still quite close by. I pulled three sparkling blue potions Sora had made out of my bag and put them in Nalgath’s arms.

“Are you sure about this?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Thanks.”

When the gatekeeper’s auras returned, Nalgath stashed Ciel in his bag and put the potions in another container.

“We’re finished talking. Let’s go,” Arly said.

The faces of Nalgath and the rest of his party got more serious.

“Good luck out there.”

“Please come back soon,” I said, meaning it with all my heart as I waved goodbye. I know they’ll be okay. If the worst happens, those potions will serve them well.