The weakest tamer began.., p.1
The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick Up Trash Vol. 7, page 1
Table of Contents
Color Gallery
Title Page
Table of Contents Page
Ivy's Journey Thus Far:
Characters
Copyrights and Credits
PART 7: Festival in Hatahi Village
Chapter 325: A Brightly Colored Village
Chapter 326: It’s the Same Everywhere
Chapter 327: Where the Dump Is
Chapter 328: Detect Magic Skill
Chapter 329: So Bitter!
Chapter 330: Not Again!
Chapter 331: A Private Dining Room
Chapter 332: Mmmeeeooowww!
Chapter 333: Total Trap Annihilation!
Chapter 334: Dying to Know
Chapter 335: Come with Courage and an Open Mind
Chapter 336: We Should Have Warned Him
Chapter 337: Asking for Advice Is Important
Chapter 338: Penta Fruit and Tetra Fruit
Chapter 339: Straight from the Source
Chapter 340: Trouncing Trauma
Chapter 341: He Yelled at Me
Chapter 342: A Heroic Name
SIDE: A New Beginning
Chapter 343: A Wonderful Friend
Chapter 344: An Equally Rare Magic Stone
Chapter 345: Festival Eve
Chapter 346: A Close Friend?
Chapter 347: A Nobleman’s Duty?
Chapter 348: A Day of Dancing
Chapter 349: We Overslept
Chapter 350: Just Before the Festival
Chapter 351: The Festival
Chapter 352: Oops!
Chapter 353: A Magical World
Chapter 354: Trash Mountain
Chapter 355: The Tamer-Monster Relationship
Chapter 356: My Precious Family
Chapter 357: Retraining
Chapter 358: Chikar Has the Jitters
SIDE: Druid’s Decision
SIDE: Druid’s Decision, Part 2
SIDE: Druid and Ivy’s Big Step
Chapter 359: News
Chapter 360: It’s a Coincidence...Right?
Chapter 361: Gol
Chapter 362: Please Help Us!
Chapter 363: An Inn of Excellence
Chapter 364: I Wanna Pet Them!
Chapter 365: Don’t Talk About Money!
SIDE: Fecilla’s Job
Chapter 366: First Time Fishing
Chapter 367: Something Doesn’t Feel Right?
EXTRA: Let’s Give Gyoza Another Try!
BONUS: The Little Girl, Pretty in Pink
Afterword
About the Creators
Newsletter
Chapter 325:
A Brightly Colored Village
“Ciel, Sora, you’ll both have to get back into the bag now.”
Since we were getting close to Hatahi Village, it was time to return everyone to their bag. Seven days had passed since we found all that fruit. Since then, we’d mined some magic stones from a cave, foraged some more fruit and nuts, and even happened upon an illegal dump. That was where Sol really got a chance to show off. The symbols that appeared on Sol’s body when it floated had turned into a muted silver that looked really cool. But Sol was perpetually round now, and we were a little worried that it wasn’t returning to its former shape.
“Ivy, do you sense any human auras around?” Druid asked, casting glances at our immediate surroundings.
“Lemme check… Nope.”
I did feel a human aura in the distance, but there weren’t any monster auras nearby. That was probably because Ciel had been out of the bag earlier.
“Then let’s head on to the village road.”
“Yes, let’s.”
We walked in the direction Ciel had told us to go until the village road came into view. That’s our Ciel!
“We’re almost there,” Druid remarked.
“Yeah.”
“Since we’ll be arriving about fifteen days ahead of schedule, we’ll have our choice of an inn.”
“Do they really fill up that quickly?”
“Yeah, the village gets crowded the day of, so we’ll have to be careful not to lose each other.”
“Got it.” I wonder just how many people will be there. I’m excited about the festival, but I get a little nervous when I think about being around all those people. Hmm… Will I be able to enjoy myself?
“Don’t worry, everyone’s just there to enjoy the festival.” Sensing my anxieties, Druid gave my head a reassuring pat. “Just relax and enjoy yourself.”
“I will.” As long as Druid is with me, I should be okay. “Whoa! Is that the village gate?”
I was startled by the sight of a gate that could only be described as flashy. It was covered top to bottom in splashes of color.
“Well, flashy is the name of the game in this village. Just wait until you see what’s inside.”
It’s flashy inside, too? Is it really okay for them to have such a showy front gate? I stopped in my tracks and stared up at it. It was made of wood; that much was no different from the other towns and villages. But the wood was painted in bright colors. From reds to blues to greens, it was covered in a kaleidoscope of hues.
“That painting…what’s it supposed to be?”
It looked like the scribbled art of a toddler. In places, it even seemed like the colors had been smashed onto the door with some kind of tool.
“It probably started out as a painting of something, but it’s taken on more and more splashes of color with each festival.”
“It gets painted during the festivals?”
“That’s right. Some people throw their cakes of powdered paint at the gate.”
So that’s why the picture is abstract. But cakes aside, is it really all right to throw things at the gate? What a strange village.
“And on the day of the festival, everyone wears all-white clothes.”
“White clothes? But I don’t have any white clothes.”
“Don’t worry, they sell clothes specifically for the festival. You wear them for two days straight.”
“Why for two days?”
“I’ll explain later; let’s go inside first. The gatekeeper’s been giving us funny looks.”
The gatekeeper was staring at us, probably because we’d spent so much time talking and looking at the gate. When we got closer, we received a wary glare. Now I felt bad.
“Hello, we’d like to enter the village.”
“You would? Well, please give me either a guild card or some other form of identification.”
The gatekeeper sounded quite guarded. Were we really acting that suspiciously? Druid pulled out his guild card, so I took out mine in turn. After confirming our identities, the gatekeeper sighed loudly.
“Oh, what a relief. You’re a bit early for the festival, and you kept staring at me, so I was worried you were up to something.”
“So sorry about that,” I apologized. “This is our first time here, so I was asking him why the gate was so flashy.”
“Aha, you’ve never been here before?”
“That’s right.”
“Well, the festival sure does get flashier and flashier every year.” The gatekeeper looked up at the gate. “Do you have any plans for your stay in Hatahi?”
“Yes, we’re here for the festival.”
“What?! But that’s not for another month.” The gatekeeper was startled.
I guess we really did get here too early. “Ahh, well, we were worried we wouldn’t be able to get a room at an inn, so we came early,” I explained.
“Oh, now I see. Yes, we do get more and more visitors every year, and the inns sure do fill up.”
“Ah, that reminds me, do you know of any good inns?”
“Let me see… Oh, could you write your reason for coming to town on this form here?”
“Sure.” Druid took the paper from the gatekeeper.
“Since you’re here for the festival, I assume that means you’ll be staying for about a month?”
“That’s the plan, yes. We thought about camping in the plaza, but we figured we’d better not at this time of year.”
“Yes, don’t stay in the plaza. Just yesterday, some idiots caused another big brawl. Especially with that pretty little daughter of yours, you definitely should avoid camping in the plaza this time of year.”
Is it really that bad? So bad he had to tell us twice not to stay there?
“If you’re looking for an inn that’s not too expensive, go down Main Street, then take the fourth right. After a minute or two, you’ll come across an inn called Kokoron. The innkeeper there is friendly and full of fun.”
“Is there a bath?”
“Oh, every inn in Hatahi comes with a bath. It’s regulation; you can’t build an inn without one.”
Baths are required by law? Wow, what a village.
“That’s news to me,” Druid said.
“The bath at Kokoron is big, too, so it’s famously nice and relaxing.”
“Well, I’m looking forward to seeing it. Thanks.”
“No problem. Have fun at the festival, you two.”
“Thanks. And we appreciate the tip on the inn.”
“Yes, thank you very much,” I added.
“Oh, don’t mention it.”
We stepped through the gate and looked at the streets unfolding before us, which were definitely flashy. In fact, they used so many different colors that there was nothing uniform about them.
“It’s making my eyes tired,” I sighed.
“Ha ha ha! That’s how everyone feels the first time they come here, but you’ll get used to it in a month.”
I guess it will take quite a while before I get used to it, then. But just look at all the colors on the doors, window frames, and walls!
All the houses clashed completely with each other. And they each used primary-adjacent colors, too, so all of Main Street gave off a bright and colorful mood.
“The gatekeeper said to go down Main Street, then take the fourth right… Oh, is that our inn?”
Around the corner and several houses down stood a bright blue building: Kokoron, the inn that the gatekeeper had told us about.
“Wow…it’s so blue.”
“It sure is,” Druid agreed. “Bright-blue walls with a bright-yellow door.”
“But the window frames are black.”
We opened the door and stepped into Kokoron.
“Huh? It’s completely different inside.”
I’d assumed that the inside would be just as flashy as the outside, but Kokoron was decorated with furnishings of incredibly muted colors.
“Come on in! Welcome to Kokoron. I’m Chikar, the innkeeper.”
I looked in the direction of the voice to see a bespectacled man smiling at us. He was about as tall as Druid but much thinner.
“My name is Druid, and this is Ivy. We’d like to stay in Hatahi for a while. Do you have a room available?”
“We sure do. The festival isn’t for another month, so we’ve got plenty of space. Will you be sharing a room?”
“Yes, please.”
“How long will you be staying?”
“We’re going to the festival, so we still haven’t decided when we’ll be leaving.”
“All right. I’ll just calculate your bill for a month for now.”
“Thank you.”
“It’s seven radal per month with breakfast included. Suppers are sold separately.”
This village seemed more expensive than the last one. Maybe that was because the inns got crowded during the festival season.
“Okay. Do we just tell you whenever we want supper?”
“Sure thing. All right, you’ve got a corner room on the third floor. There’s a kitchen on each floor that’s free to use. I’ll just escort you to your room, then.”
We followed Chikar upstairs to the third floor.
“This is the kitchen.”
I looked at the third-floor kitchen. It was filled with pots and pans and looked like it would be easy for me to use.
“And here is your room.” He led us into a large, clean room. “Does everything look okay?”
“Yes, I’m glad to see it’s so cozy and unobtrusive,” I answered.
The common living space may have been furnished in muted tones, but I’d been worried about what the individual rooms were like. If they were splattered with color like the outside, I wouldn’t have been able to relax. But my worries were for nothing: The wood tones in the room made me feel really warm and cozy. I was so relieved.
“Hee hee! Glad you like it. Will you both need supper tonight?”
I guess he knows exactly what I was worried about. That’s a little embarrassing.
“Yes, please, if it’s not too much trouble.”
“Okay, supper for two.”
As soon as Chikar left our room, I flopped onto my bed. “This village sure is fascinating.”
“It really is. Want to take a walk around later? We’ve got information for the adventurer guild anyway.”
“Sure.”
I’m so excited for the festival!
Chapter 326:
It’s the Same Everywhere
“Whoa, now, just wait a gosh darn minute!”
We were at the adventurer guild office to tell them about the illegal dump in the forest and the monsters that had gone berserk from the magic energy there. The more we talked, the bluer the guild member’s face grew. When we finally finished explaining everything, he ran off in a frenzy. Since Druid had warned me that our news would probably cause a stir in the adventurer guild, I wasn’t too surprised by the reaction, but the sight of the bluing face gave me a good shock.
“I didn’t know people’s faces could turn blue that quickly,” I said.
“Yeah, that was impressive. But it was a natural reaction: Villages can easily fall to ruin if a berserk monster is on the loose.”
Berserk monsters were indeed terrifying. Even though I knew Ciel was truly powerful, I was always scared it would get hurt whenever other monsters showed up.
“I’m sorry, but could you please come this way? The guild master wants to hear more.”
Druid and I exchanged weak smiles. It seemed our news really had caused quite a stir. Even the other adventurers around were staring at us warily.
“Yes, of course,” Druid answered the guild staffer, and we all climbed up the stairs together.
“Excuse me, sir.” The staff member opened what I assumed was the door to the guild master’s office, and we found a sturdily built lady in the room.
“Ahh, thank you,” she said. “And just who might you folks be? Sorry to call you up here like this.”
Hatahi’s guild master is a lady? I looked around the room, and she was the only person there. As I was studying her, she turned to look at me.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lish, guild master of Hatahi Village.”
Guild Master Lish was confident and down to earth. She was a bit shorter than Druid, but she was very muscular for a lady.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Druid.”
“And I’m Ivy. Nice to meet you, ma’am.”
“She your daughter?” Guild Master Lish looked back and forth between us in confusion. She probably thought it was strange that we didn’t look alike.
“No, but she’s like a daughter to me.”
Druid’s answer made my cheeks burn. It took everything I had not to melt into mush while I gave Guild Master Lish a little nod.
“That so? Anyway, hate to get right to it, but can ya tell me a bit more about those berserk monsters?”
“Yes, ma’am.” Druid pointed at the map and showed her where we found the monsters. We’d spent a few days checking the map to make sure we knew exactly where it happened so we could provide a good explanation to the guild. And Ciel had helped us part of the way through, so our calculations should have been right. Then again, Ciel’s help didn’t really amount to much since the creature couldn’t read maps.
I looked around the office and saw that the shelves were piled with books. Curiosity getting the better of me, I had a closer look and noticed that most of them were about monsters.
I wonder if she has any books on slimes? I’ll have to ask later.
“Okay, so you’re sure you saw them at this rocky boulder, then?”
“Yes, we’re certain of it.”
“Arrgh, what a hassle. I keep telling those brainless adventurers to be careful.” Guild Master Lish sighed heavily. “Since you don’t know how many there are, guess we’ll hafta send out a cleanup party. Wanna be a part of that?”
“Er, no thank you,” Druid shook his head.
“Too bad.”
“I’m sorry about that,” Druid said. “Well, we’d better be on our way.”
“All right, lemme know if ya change your mind. Oh, and can I see your bank card for a bit? I wanna pay ya for that tip.”
Druid handed our family account card to Lish. She pressed it to a magic item, then gave it back to Druid.
“Um, ma’am?” I said.
“What’s up, my dear?”
“I noticed you have a lot of books… Are any of them about slimes?”
“Slimes, you say?”
“Yes, ma’am,” I nodded.
Guild Master Lish walked over to one of the shelves and pulled out a book. “For slimes, this is the best book I’ve got.”
Looking more closely, I saw it was the same book I’d bought. “Oh, I have this book!”
“Do ya? You’ve got good taste, my dear. All the other slime books are half-baked compared to this one; no point in reading ’em.”
Oh dear. That’s too bad.
“If ya wanna learn about slimes, does that mean you’re a tamer, Ivy?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Since hiding my skill just made people nosier about it, I had decided to say right away that I was a tamer whenever I was asked. I was a little worried people would ask to meet my slimes, but anyone stupid enough to ask to see someone’s tamed monsters was fair game to ignore. Druid said we could even take legal action if people got too inquisitive.
