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

The village, now cloaked in night, was as quiet as ever. Yet, if one listened closely, they could detect the faint sounds of harmonious conversations and subtle vibrations.

“Whew, I’m stuffed. It’s been a while since I ate this much. Altera, how about you? Did you enjoy it? You seemed to really like the meat.”

“…Yeah. It was delicious. I’d like to have it again if possible.”

I could probably survive on the same old smelly meat, scorched on the outside and raw on the inside, and bitter-tasting plants, but I wouldn’t be as satisfied as before.

My taste buds had already been elevated. The plant-based dishes were as good as the meat, but the meat was so delicious that I relatively reached for them less.

“What’s she saying? She said it was delicious, right? Yeah. Of course, it had to be. Even that picky guy asked for more, saying it was tasty. It couldn’t have been masked even with lousy ingredients.”

“Yeah, she said it’s delicious. She also said she wants to eat it again later. How about you become a cook instead of a mage?”

“Hahaha, don’t be silly. A side job is only fun when it’s a side job. You must be sleepy, talking nonsense like that. Go to bed.”

“I am a bit sleepy. Well, I’ll keep it in mind. Anyway, Altera, is there anything you need to take care of? Yuna has to periodically visit the dwarf village to maintain her arm and bow and resupply arrows.”

As I recalled the taste of the meat and watched the moths dashing into the ceiling lamp, Myungho asked if there was anything he needed to take care of for me.

There was one… but it wasn’t a big problem. I could just say I needed a break and take care of it secretly while no one was looking.

“Not really.”

Even now… I could feel something in my stomach, but it wasn’t an immediate problem since there was still quite some time left.

“Really? Well, that’s good. We’ll be walking for quite a while starting tomorrow, so it’s best to get a good night’s sleep now. I’m turning off the light. Good night, everyone. Yuna… fell asleep a while ago. Yawn. Me too…”

The lamp was turned off, and soon the sounds of sleeping animals increased one by one. All three seemed to be fast asleep.

I had no intention of sleeping. Not only was it hard for me to fall asleep, but I also didn’t feel particularly tired from not sleeping.

So I thought about the gazes of the humans I saw today. There was fear in their eyes, but no desire; caution, but no hostility.

Unlike the people in the villages I frequented, I couldn’t find any greasy greed in the people here. Their households didn’t seem particularly well-off, so why?

It was hard to understand. If they lacked something, shouldn’t they be greedier to fill that void?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer with my knowledge, so I stopped thinking about it. It was no different from banging my head against a wall.

So I thought about a more practical question. Where was my father, that bastard? Where was the target of my journey, the enemy I had to kill?

I didn’t know. A small sigh escaped me as I reached that thought. I knew nothing. Not about this world, not about its language, and not about the enemy’s location. Nothing.

Frustrated, I wanted to go outside. I carefully got out of bed, made sure everyone was fast asleep, and quietly opened the door and went out.

…Would that wooden roof hold my weight? I carefully climbed up the wall and stepped on it. It was sturdier than I thought, so I quietly lay down.

Looking up at the night sky, my complicated mind seemed to clear up a bit. Or maybe the night sky was just so beautiful that I stopped thinking about other things.

I hummed a song my mother used to sing to me. I couldn’t remember the lyrics, but I remembered the melody.

So, was it like this? Actually, even the melody was faint. It had been so long. Still, I tried my best to recall the memory and continued the song, but for some reason, I met eyes with Myungho, who had come outside.

“…Yawn… Huh… Altera? What are you doing up there on the roof…?”

“…Thinking. About my father.”

He didn’t hear the song, did he? Fortunately, he didn’t seem to. I could tell from his face that he hadn’t fully escaped the clutches of sleep yet.

“Oh… I see… I came out because I heard something… I guess I was mistaken… Um. What are you going to do when you meet your father…?”

“I’ll rip his head off and throw it next to Mother’s grave. Then Mother can finally rest in peace. Oh, right… Before that, I’ll beat him up until I feel better.”

I wasn’t the helpless me from before. I wasn’t the kid who had to lie flat under the bushes and tremble. I would definitely kill him with these two hands.

“I… see…? Well, I hope… things work out… Um… Maybe you should still talk to him. There might be… a misunderstanding… Uh, never mind…”

When I glared at Myungho, he quickly took back the thoughtless words he had blurted out. Talk it out? That time had long passed.

“…Go back inside and sleep. I don’t need to, but you humans do. I’ll stay here a bit longer to watch for any suspicious movements and think.”

He said okay, stretched widely, and went back inside.

And so, I stared blankly at the starry sky on the roof until dawn. The sunrise I saw while pulling out and chewing on iron ore from the nearby earth wasn’t so bad.

– – – –

Altera really did stay up all night. Her bed was empty.

…Was she that embarrassed about singing? She was quite good, so I didn’t understand why. She was different from us, so maybe she really didn’t need to sleep.

I could figure that out later; I had other things to do now. I got out of bed and gathered my equipment. It was just an old leather armor, a sword that was hardly a sword, and another sword I used more often than the holy sword.

When we got to the next city, I would buy the best of everything there. Fortunately, our financial situation had improved since Altera joined the party, so there was no need to compromise with reality anymore.

The village chief seemed to have slept well too, as he greeted me with a bright expression.

“Oh, Hero! You’re already awake?”

“Yes. It’s better to leave early in the morning if we’re going to leave. And we can’t be a burden to you any longer.”

The village chief waved his hands, saying what burden, but even if they were fine, it must have been difficult for a village that had been attacked to hold a feast.

“More importantly… have you ever seen a dwarf? Even a rumor would be helpful.”

“A dwarf… dwarf? You mean… those small people? Hmm, this old man hasn’t seen one with his own eyes… but, yes. The village hunters said they saw something like a small person in the mountains over there. They weren’t sure if it was a dwarf or… a goblin.”

If it were a goblin, it would have definitely attacked humans, so it was probably a dwarf. The mountains over there. It was too vague, but I wasn’t too worried.

Because we had Altera. With her phenomenal detection abilities, she could easily find even the most hidden village.

No matter the size of the village, they would definitely have a forge.

If she could detect the faint sound of a relic key, there was no way she could miss such a loud noise.

“I see, thank you for your help.”

“No, we are the ones who are sorry for not being able to repay your kindness.”

It seemed like this would go on forever, so I ended the conversation at an appropriate time and returned to where my companions were.

Yuna was also awake and was doing some simple maintenance on her steel arm. Her expression wasn’t good, so it must have become quite loose.

“Is it looser than yesterday?”

“…Yes. Soon, my skills alone won’t be enough.”

“I have good news. The village chief said the hunters saw something like a dwarf in the mountains over there. It’s probably a dwarf. There should be a village nearby.”

Their range of activity was vast underground, but not so wide above ground. So, if a dwarf was seen above ground, it was almost guaranteed that there was a village nearby.

“Really…! I hope the forgemaster there has a good personality. The forgemaster at the last place we visited was as nasty as the miners’ work boots.”

“I hope so too.”

Akash was still sleeping, so I shook him awake. I told him to get ready since we were leaving soon, and he stood up, fixing his messy hair.

He didn’t have anything to prepare. Even his only personal equipment, the grimoire, was being kept by me.

“Trying to act diligent. So, did you find out where those gloomy mole’s village is?”

“Yeah. Over that mountain. We’ll need Altera’s help for the exact location, though.”

“It hasn’t even been a day since she joined the party, and you’re already putting her to work?”

That was… true. But she was just too capable. I didn’t know how she felt about us yet, but to me, she felt like a godsend.

No, she was much better than that.

I didn’t bother responding to Akash’s words and packed Altera’s things as well before heading out of the house.

It hadn’t been long since we said we were leaving, but the villagers were already outside, waiting to see us off.

They really didn’t have to do this.

“Altera. Come down now. We know where we’re going.”

“Got it.”

She jumped down lightly to the ground.

When we got to a city, we should buy her some clothes. For her safety. There were quite a few people in the world whose lust overpowered all other desires.

Especially with her beautiful appearance and the rarity of being a half dragon…

Hmm.

There would be at least one person who would wage war to take her.

“Then, we’ll be on our way.”

“Thank you for protecting our village, Hero!”

“Thank you for saving us!”

Surrounded by warm encouragement and cheers, we set off on our journey once again.