The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 9 - Chapter 437.5

SIDE:

The Guild Master’s Grit

GUILD MASTER ULIGA’S PERSPECTIVE

I WATCHED AS PIARRE looked more and more scared. It would be best not to push him too hard.

“You can wait here if you’d prefer.”

“No thanks, sir. I have my talisman.”

There it is again—talisman. What is he talking about? Something he got from Appas?

“Did Appas give you something?”

Did he bring an item that can control the summoning circle’s power? If he did, that would be a big help.

“Er, no, sir. Miss Ivy gave me the protection of Sol’s magic stones.”

“Oh, did she now… Wait—Sol’s magic stones?”

“Yes, sir. The captain said it would be horrible if anything happened to Ivy, so he told me to take one for protection. So I went to your house to see her, but then I think Mr. Druid and Miss Ivy said they would be okay… Right, they did. Yes. So, when I was about to leave, Miss Ivy said, ‘Sol made some magic stones. This is for you.’ I guess Sol did a little magic stone-making before I arrived at your house and… Wait, huh?”

Is this guy okay? He just strung a lot of words together in a weird way. Well, I think I got the gist of it. I stole a glance at Piarre, who was walking a few paces behind me. His face was even paler than before.

“Um… Aren’t Sol’s magic stones incredibly rare, sir?”

“Yeah. They have magic powers, the likes of which we’ve never heard of.”

“Yes, I thought so. And, well, I’ve got five of them… What should I do with them? I’ve got five.”

Is that why he’s nervous? Not because of the activated summoning circle but because he’s carrying magic stones? Well, yeah, they are really powerful magic stones after all. And five of them, too… Hnnf?! How many did he say he has?

“Five stones?!”

“Yes. Would you like to carry one, Guild Master? I already gave half of them to Juggy.”

Meaning he was originally given ten of them?

“Please take it off my hands, sir?” he piped up desperately. I looked over to see him shoving his bag in my face. It probably contained Sol’s magic stones.

“Pfft! Kee-hee-hee!”

“Why are you laughing?!”

“I assumed you were scared about the summoning circle, not this.”

Piarre looked down at his bag and sighed. “Yes, the activated summoning circle did scare me at first, but when I was telling you about the magic stones from Miss Ivy, I remembered the captain talking about them, and as I talked, I realized that the magic stones I was carrying were super amazing, and um, how much do you think these magic stones would sell for, sir? Think we could pay Miss Ivy back if something happened to them?”

“How much would they cost? Uhhhhhh… Maybe a pile of gold plates for one? Nobody’s ever heard of a magic stone that sucks up a summoning circle’s powers.”

“Um, sir?”

“Yeah?”

“Two of the ten magic stones I got were glowing. I tried to give them to Juggy, but he was very resistant to the idea. They’re inside this bag. Please, take them off my hands, sir.”

Er… Are these really the same stones that have been helping us activate summoning circles safely?

“No, Piarre—you keep them.”

“But I don’t want them, sir!” Piarre sputtered desperately.

I smiled and shook my head. Ordinarily, it would be for the best if I kept them, but now I felt safer with Piarre carrying them. I hadn’t hidden the fact that my memories from when I was under the summoning circle’s spell had been returning little by little. Our enemy had probably heard the news by now, meaning they would try to save their hides before I got all my memories back. Naturally, I had no intention of letting them kill me without a fight, but you never knew what they might do to me. And if that happened, I couldn’t be trusted with a magic stone. I was already preoccupied by what I’d do if somebody attacked me while I had one in my pocket.

“You keep them for now.”

“Urrrrgh… Yes, sir.”

Piarre and his comrades had gotten wind of what I was trying to do, which must have been why they kept casting worried glances at me. I felt bad about it, but the best way of luring the rats out of hiding was with some bait.

“You okay? Again, you can always wait here if you’d prefer.”

Piarre shook his head. His complexion was much healthier now. “I’m all right, sir.”

We paused at the top step of the staircase that led to the basement.

“What happened to the guards, sir?”

“I told them to leave this spot and the inside of the cell vacant, just in case.”

I had stationed the guards farther away to keep them safe if Father Salify activated a summoning circle, but I’d never dreamed that would actually happen.

“Let’s go.”

We slowly walked down the stairs. The moment we arrived in the basement, a faint light could be seen from one of the cells.

“Looks like the summoning circle is still working, sir.”

I nodded in reply. That illumination was probably coming from the activated summoning circle. Light was streaking out between the bars of the cell.

“So hot!”

I spun to look behind me and saw Piarre pulling something out of his bag. It was a magic stone, glowing with a faint white light.

“Wait… It’s not hot?” he said.

“You okay?”

“Yes, sir. I took it out because something felt hot, but…it’s not hot. What’s going on?” Piarre tilted his head quizzically at the magic stone. It was hot…yet not hot. I knew that feeling.

“The black magic stone I’m holding isn’t glowing, but it has the same reaction. Keep holding it—you’ll be fine.”

“Okay, sir.”

As we approached the cell together, another burst of light seeped out from between the bars, and a part of it floated toward us. A trickle of cold sweat hit the base of my spine.

“Ack!”

I turned around to see Piarre’s magic stone absorbing the beam of light. So it does react in the same way.

“Agh!”

While we watched the stone in fascination, it fell out of Piarre’s hand.

“What happened?”

“It started spinning, sir…”

Well, that’s new. The fallen magic stone spun and slid along the ground toward the cell, as if it had a mind of its own, and then it absorbed all the light coming from the cell. When I saw the light was no longer directed our way, we stole a cautious glance into the cell.

“Is that…Father Salify, sir?”

I nodded tentatively in reply. He was wandering aimlessly around the cell, and he did not look sane by any stretch of the imagination.

“He has an unsettling aura about him—like he’s possessed.”

It was just as Piarre said: As Salify walked around the cell with empty eyes, he looked eerie rather than unsettling. While we stood there watching him, it reminded me of something. But what? I’ve seen it before, many times. But I can’t remember what it is…

“Oh! Is that Father Salify, sir?”

“Yes, why?”

Piarre stared at Salify for a moment, then nodded. “One night after I was walking home from work, I saw Father Salify wandering around the plaza. But he had a strange aura about him, so I left the plaza right away.”

“He was wandering…around the plaza?”

As I repeated the words, a light in my brain switched on. Where did that happen? It was in a very familiar spot… Oh, the plaza! That’s right… But why am I remembering the plaza? I think…something happened there? Or maybe…I saw something happen? I turned my attention back to the cell and saw Father Salify staring at me with hollow eyes. It’s no use… It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I just can’t remember.

“Sorry, I can’t help you.” I shook my head in defeat. Then I heard a thudding noise in the cell and looked over to see that Father Salify had collapsed.

“What should we do, sir?”

I wanted to walk over and see what condition he was in, but light was still coming from the summoning circle. It was probably still active.

“It’s too dangerous to approach him.”

“Yes, I thought it would be.”

Spin, spin, spin, spin.

The magic stone stopped in front of the cell and spun in circles closer to Father Salify. It really did look like the thing had a mind of its own. As we stood there, waiting to see what would happen, we noticed the stone was drinking in the light as soon as the summoning circle produced it.

“I think it’s safe for us to get closer, sir.”

“Yeah.”

As I went to get the key to unlock the cell, I heard Ilya’s voice above me. “Everything all right down there?”

“We’re fine, thanks.”

“No problems with Father Gupinus. We spoke for a bit, but he was acting creepy,” Ilya said.

“It’s safe to come down,” I told him.

“Oh—yes, sir!” Ilya scurried down the stairs and looked nervously around the area. When he noticed the stream of light coming from the cell, his body jolted like it was struck by lightning.

“Come on, it’s not that scary…”

“Oh, I can’t stand it. I hate the sight of someone losing their sense of self!”

Yeah, I can sympathize. It brought back an old memory, but it felt like it was about someone else and it made me feel sick. I was me, yet not me. My judgment, my interest in work… Everything was different.

I sighed. “Yeah, I don’t ever want to have to deal with this again, either.”