I’m Not an Earthworm, I’m an Earth Dragon

I channeled magic into my horn, attempting to bend the golden identification tag, but my power had no effect on the thoroughly refined object. So not even a speck of dirt from my home remained.

“…Do you hold any grudges, or anything like that, against the villagers?”

Myungho asked if I harbored any lingering resentment towards the humans. Come to think of it, I had… but not anymore.

“No, I don’t. But… well, the beasts of the mountain know the taste of human flesh. They have plenty to eat for now, so they won’t go out of their way… but who knows.”

Every time the humans came to kill me, I killed them to survive. Naturally, I had no good feelings towards them, and I had no time to spare, so their corpses were left as they were.

Once, out of curiosity, I went to check, and a strange beast with six legs was voraciously sucking the marrow out of the bones.

Among the beasts I had devoured, there were probably some that had tasted human flesh. If they were to go hungry… they might descend upon the village.

Not that it mattered to me. I didn’t hate them, but I didn’t pity them either. The weak would die, and the strong would survive. That was the only rule I learned from nature.

“…Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

I didn’t bother to answer Myungho’s question, which was filled with anxiety. I didn’t know either.

Having signed the agreement to join the party, we were walking along a certain path. There were a few creatures following us, but after I lightly tossed pebbles to chase them away, they eventually disappeared.

“Leave them be. It’s a big village, all because of the bastards trying to catch a dragon, but now that the dragon’s gone, they’ll wither away on their own. What’s the difference between being swept away by monsters or withering away?”

The mage, Akash, whined in an irritating voice. I didn’t understand what he was saying, but it was sure to be something annoying.

“Why do you always have to talk like that… Ah, never mind. Yuna, does the map your foster father gave you have any information about a dwarf village nearby?”

“No, at least not on the map. I also inquired in Goldsmett, but I couldn’t find any credible evidence.”

By the way, what have they been talking about without me this whole time? I followed them, munching on a delicious piece of jerky I bought with my own money.

Was this the path humans walked? Compared to the city, it was crude, but it was nothing compared to the mountain trails. There were no pebbles and no animal droppings.

Only well-packed dirt. It wasn’t painful to step on pebbles, but a flat path was still better.

“For once, you’re making sense, Akash. Indeed, if they are the kind who dislike being seen, they might have secretly built a village… but we can’t just go into the mountains without a plan. Who knows what kind of monsters might be there… Ah.”

…? Why were they suddenly looking at me again? Akash, Yuna, and Myungho. They all looked at me as if they had completely forgotten I existed.

“Altera, while living in the mountains, have you ever seen… people about this small… what should I call them? Furry people? Even just one.”

Myungho asked me, pointing to his own thigh. I racked my brain, trying to remember if I had ever seen anything like that in my life, but nothing came to mind.

“No.”

“Yeah… I guess not. Sigh, do we really have to go back to that place we visited before? It’s quite a distance.”

“What’s the big deal? We’re just vagabonds wandering without a purpose. We can laze around for a few months, can’t we?”

“Still, we should have something to report when the home country asks about our progress…! Well, come to think of it, we’ve done enough for now… but they’ll make a fuss about us neglecting our personal training.”

This jerky was delicious. Unlike the ones I made, the flavor combination and intensity were fantastic. Or maybe the ones I made weren’t actually food but garbage.

More importantly, I could feel a vibration from a distance, as if something was following us from afar.

What could it be? It wasn’t a herd of wild animals. It seemed like humans… Could it be that a subjugation team had arrived in the meantime?

Were they going to attack regardless of whether we were part of the Hero’s party or just adventurers? Ruthless bastards.

I thought I could finally relax a little. I pulled my greatsword from the earth and infused it with magic. Everyone looked at me, startled by my sudden action.

Myungho called out to me, but I rushed towards the closest vibration I felt.

I dashed between the trees, grabbed the head of the one trying to escape from me, and slammed it to the ground. It turned out to be a frail old human.

He had no weapon, no unusual magic, and even after thoroughly searching his sleeves and hiding places, there was nothing that could harm me, just an old man.

The old man, lying on the ground, let out a shrill scream as if he were dying. I was at a loss for what to do with him. I mean, I thought he was a scout sent to spy on us.

The party members, who arrived late, saw me pinning down an old man and each threw a word of criticism. Although, Yuna’s criticism was directed elsewhere.

“…Altera! Let go of him right now! What are you doing?!”

“Yeah, figures she’d act like this, growing up in the wild without parents.”

“Please, shut that mouth of yours, Akash. So, what’s going on here? Myungho, you’re the only one here who can communicate with her. Explain quickly.”

…Indeed. There was no reason to keep him restrained, so I released the old man. He tried to run away, but he tripped over a tree root, fell, and fainted.

“Altera…! Why did you do that?! He’s just a weak old man!”

Well, did I do something wrong? It was the fault of the one sneaking around. I tried to sense the vibration again, but it had already disappeared far away.

“This old man was following us. I thought they were a subjugation team after me, so I acted first.”

I didn’t expect them to understand me. They hadn’t lived a life being chased by humans like I had. So I was prepared to accept whatever they said.

Surprisingly, Myungho readily accepted the explanation and checked the old man’s condition. He had some scratches from being slammed to the ground, but he wouldn’t die.

“…I see. Well, then… next time, think twice before rushing in. And I told you, if you hunt adventurers, you’ll be hunted by them in return. No subjugation team will come.”

Myungho explained to the party members why I did what I did and immediately tended to the old man.

How could I trust a human’s words? I returned my greatsword to the earth, sat on a tree stump, and popped a candy into my mouth.

Why waste precious bandages on such a minor injury? He would wake up soon anyway. As I expected, the old man soon regained consciousness, saw me, and let out another shrill scream.

“Calm down, sir. Our party member had a slight misunderstanding… I apologize. So, could you please tell us why you were following us?”

“The witch’s offspring… as companions…! Aigh, aigh…”

The old man, having a fit on his own, collapsed again. I wondered how someone so weak could have survived in this harsh world.

“…Sigh. We are… not strange people… I don’t want to use the brush on a human, really.”

“That’s your only forte, and you don’t want to use it? What a joke.”

Myungho took out the giant brush he carried on his back and wrote something on the old man. What was he doing? Was he healing him? But I didn’t sense any flow of magic, so that couldn’t be it.

It seemed familiar somehow. It must be my imagination.

Fortunately, when the old man woke up again, he didn’t faint at the sight of us. He was still extremely wary of me, though. Well, I was used to such glares. I rolled the candy around in my mouth, unbothered.

I didn’t want to bite into it and lose this sweetness just yet.

“Sir, are you feeling better now? My companion is a bit suspicious, I apologize. So… could you tell us why you were following us?”

“…I don’t know why you’re traveling with the witch’s offspring, but are you adventurers? If so, please help our village…! I’ll pay you well…!”

The old man said this and showed Myungho a few worn gold coins.

“…What’s the matter? The reward is fine; we’ll help you.”

However, Myungho’s attitude changed, not because of the money but after looking at the old man’s face. He seemed to have more strength in his expression.

“A group of orcs came to the village, looting and causing trouble. Please drive them away…! These people have nowhere else to go…!”

“Wait a minute, people? Are there others? Where did they go…?”

“I told them to run in that direction if anything happened… They should have arrived by now. Please help us…!”

The old man pointed in the direction of the mountain where I used to live.

“…Yuna and Akash, stay here and look after this man. Altera, let’s go.”

“Go, where?”

“This old man said that if anything happened, they should flee in that direction. But you said the beasts where you lived know the taste of human flesh. If we’re late, who knows what might happen! Come on, quickly!”

I wondered why this weakling was ordering me around, but I felt somewhat responsible, so I couldn’t just ignore him.

Should I have choked him so he couldn’t scream? Then none of these troublesome things would have happened.

“Aigh, this pushover is trying to help for free again.”

“We have plenty of money anyway. But you can’t buy human lives with money!”

“Myungho, are you sure it’s okay to go alone with Altera? I’m worried.”

“She’s our companion from now on. We have to trust her.”

Myungho was already far ahead.

…Should I call this… the scent of adventure…?

I pulled my sword from the earth and followed him, wearing a smile I had forgotten for a long time.