The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 9 - Chapter 422

Chapter 422:

I Guess It’s Edible!

“ER…BREAK THE SPELL? Can you explain what’s going on?” the captain asked, bewildered.

“Sol knows how to break the summoning circle’s spell, Captain,” I announced confidently. I knew it was possible—Sol said so. I wondered if we were right and the circle needed to be neutralized. “Sol, do you know how to cut off the magic of the summoning circle in the cave?”

“Pefu!”

I was right. But how do we do it…? Not Sol’s usual method, I hope. I don’t want Sol to try that now, considering the state it’s in.

“Are you gonna neutralize it, Sol?” my father asked.

“Pefu!” Sol answered cheerfully.

“Same way as you always do?”

“Pefu!”

So Sol really is going to shut off the summoning circle by eating its magic energy. But… I looked at the slime.

“Sol, sweetie…if you eat any more, you’ll get an upset tummy.”

Blank. Stares.

“Er, Ivy… Wrong takeaway.”

“Huh?” I looked at my father. Wait a minute…is it just me, or is everybody looking at me like I just arrived from outer space?

“Well, that’s our Ivy.”

Um, Dad, what got you to understand so quickly?

“Sol can do it, Captain,” he said.

“Right… Our little friend was listening in on our conversation. But I’m not following—that’s a slime. You know that, right?”

“Yes, Sol is indeed a slime. And if Sol says it can be done, it can be done,” my father said.

I nodded. If Sol says it’s possible, it’s possible. So this means I just need to take Sol to the cave. Yeah. That’s definitely something I can do. But…you’re so round. I just know you’ll gorge yourself. Maybe I should make you start exercising?

“Er, I know Sol says it’s possible, but are you really sure about that?” The captain turned his bewildered eyes from my father to me. “This is a summoning circle we’re dealing with.”

“Don’t worry, Captain. I know we can neutralize it because Sol says we can.”

“Wow… Well, okay. You both put me in my place.” With a sheepish smile, the captain looked at Zinal, who shrugged his shoulders.

“Don’t you ever doubt Sol?” the captain asked.

“Never, sir,” I declared. I would never doubt Sol. Looking back on everything that had happened, I could never.

“Hm. Okay. Uhh…I guess our only choice is to take Sol to the cave.”

“Yeah… That’s our only hope. Sorry…it’s just difficult to believe it when I haven’t seen it myself,” the captain stammered.

A smile crept onto my face. I knew from experience that his feelings were only natural, so I wasn’t bothered by them. My companions were unusual, and I knew it. The only thing that did concern me was Sol’s body shape. I was sure it had gorged itself too much. If it ate anything else, it was sure to hurt its stomach.

“Okay, Sol, let’s get some exercise! I’m scared of what’ll happen if you eat more when you’re like this.”

“Pehhh,” Sol complained.

But Sol had eaten so much that its body shape had changed. If it tried to eat even more…I just knew it was too risky!

“If you eat too much, you won’t be able to move anymore.”

“Pehhh.”

“Mrrrgh.”

“Ivy, I don’t think having a grumbling contest with Sol is helpful.”

Thanks! I’m aware of that!

“Peh! Peh!”

Huh? Sol’s acting strange… Is it in pain?

“Sol, are you okay? Does your tummy hurt?”

Did you eat too much after all? We need medicinal herbs… No, you wouldn’t eat those.

“Pong! Pong! Pong!”

“Whoa! Sol does it, too? That’s a surprise.”

“Wow, you’re right. And three at once, to boot!”

Blank. Stares.

As Sol doubled over in pain, magic stones came flying out of it. Since we’d had similar experiences with Flame, we weren’t quite as shocked as the first time, but we were still startled by it. I was also surprised to see the magic stones were jet black.

“Pefu!”

“Was that payback for you commenting on its body shape?” my father asked.

Sure enough, after creating the three magic stones, Sol’s body was a bit more like its normal shape. It was still a little round, though.

“Hm? You’re making more? Just don’t hurt yourself, okay?” my father said.

“Pefu! Pehhh—Pong! Pong! Pong!”

Sol made three more magic stones, and its body got a little closer to normal. Did that mean my worries were over?

“Druid…can we have a word? Are these really magic stones?” Zinal asked, pointing at the stones in my father’s hand.

“They’re magic stones, all right. Your slime makes these?” the captain asked, looking at Sol. “Just to clarify, you knew about this, right?”

“This is the first time Sol’s made magic stones, but Flame makes them all the time,” my father answered. Everyone’s eyes darted over to the sleeping Flame.

“Holy crap! I’m in the presence of greatness right now…” Nalgath whispered. His companions nodded eagerly.

The presence of greatness?

“I don’t blame you for feeling overwhelmed…” my dad said. “This all has just become another day in the life for me, but seeing your reactions really takes me back. I used to be just as shocked as all of you.” There was a sentimentality in his voice as he looked over the captain and his men…which I thought was kind of odd, since it wasn’t that long ago.

The captain sighed. “We were supposed to be tearing our hair out over the summoning circle right now…”

There was a burst of laughter. I wasn’t sure how, but the tension in the air from earlier had smoothed out.

“Well, we should be happy: We’ve found a way to neutralize the summoning circle,” Fische said as he petted Sora’s head. Sora was eagerly wriggling its head against his hand in turn. It was sure enjoying itself.

“Sure, but ever since we met Druid, it’s hard to have a serious moment for long…” Zinal said.

Everyone smiled with suppressed laughter.

“Hey, it’s not my fault,” my father grumbled, which made the laughter get louder.

“Okay, let’s go! Time is short.” The captain rose from his chair.

Zinal shot him a tired glance. “Come on, Captain, you know you can’t go. Think you can just waltz through the streets looking like that?”

“Oh, come on, let a guy have some fun!”

But despite all the captain’s protests, I had to agree with Zinal. He’d lost so much weight that he was a fright to look at, even though he was otherwise healthy.

“We’ll think about it if you get Melisa and Eche’s permission—does that sound good?” Garitt asked.

The captain scowled in reply. He probably thought Melisa and Eche would never allow it. (And I thought so, too.)

“I could just slip out for a bit.”

“You should get their permission first,” Nalgath said.

With everyone now against him, the captain slumped back into his chair and sighed. “Do I really look that hideous?”

“Yeah, you sure do. Especially right around here,” Zinal pointed at his face and nodded. That made sense—the captain could hide his frail body with clothes but not his face.

“If you were lying down, I’d assume you were dead,” Fische said. Everyone else nodded. And no wonder: Even I’d thought that when I first saw him lying down.

“Isn’t his complexion too good for him to be a corpse?” Arly asked.

I looked at the captain and realized that Arly had a point. As disturbingly thin as he was, his complexion was rosy. But in a way, that made him look even more ghoulish… It just made his bizarre appearance even worse.

“Anyway, time’s running out. Who’s going to the forest?” my father asked.

“We’ll go. We know the forest here best,” Nalgath said, raising his hand. Indeed, if things did go south, it would be best to have locals on the case.

“Got it,” the captain said. “Be careful out there. Put Ivy’s safety first above all else—even more than last time.”

“Of course we will,” Nalgath said with a firm nod. I was a little confused about why I was the top priority, though.

“Okay, let’s go. Everything okay with you, Ivy?”

“Yes, Mr. Arly. You’re not too tired, I hope?”

“I’ll be fine, thanks.”

Ciel and Sol came over to me to get packed up. Ciel would be joining us again this time.

“Thanks for coming, Ciel. And thanks for helping, Sol.”

Mrrrow.

“Pefu!”

“Captain, Mr. Zinal, take good care of Sora and Flame for me.”

The men gave me a serious look and said they would.

Okay…back to the forest!