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

I paused for a moment, keeping my posture as if I was about to jump out, focusing my attention on the mage. However, even in that brief moment, I wondered if it was worth it.

What if that mage casts magic on me? What if an assassin or archer who has silenced their presence takes aim at me while I’m talking? What if. What if. What if.

The reason I couldn’t easily take action despite considering numerous what-ifs was because of the guy who was speaking in a fully understandable language.

My mother passed away before she could teach me all the words, and the words I learned from the receptionist were just individual words, so I had never had a proper conversation.

But that guy was different.

“I know you can understand. And you probably have enough intelligence. So. Can we talk for just a moment?”

It was certainly a strange ability. However, I was also worried that he might be using this ability to buy time to surround me while we talked.

It’s a trick I’ve fallen for before. Attracting attention and then doing something dirty.

Above all, there was no guarantee that he could understand my words.

…No, it doesn’t seem right. I adjusted my posture, gripped the greatsword tightly, and rushed at the mage.

The mage reacted in time again and erected a barrier of magic. The thickness and strength were on a different level from the half-wits I’ve seen so far.

Normally, I would have shattered the barrier and sliced him vertically, but the sword stopped in mid-air, making a grating sound.

“Hey, hey! Fuck, this bitch is seriously trying to kill us, you idiot! It’s not a joke or an exaggeration, we really can’t hold out much longer! Let’s run away, I said!”

“Don’t exaggerate. We can still hold out for about two more hits. Please, let’s just talk for once!”

He persistently appealed to me to talk. His appearance was so irritating that I channeled magic into my body and strengthened my grip on the sword.

It seemed to have an effect, as the completely stopped sword was now penetrating the barrier at the speed of a walking ant.

“…How can I trust you?”

Humans cannot be trusted. They should not be trusted. I was not resisting at all, so I channeled magic into my weapon as well, further increasing its destructive power.

“Akash. Just keep her away for a moment. Nothing more, just keep her away.”

As soon as the Hero instructed the mage, Akash, the mage grumbled something under his breath, and suddenly I felt a shockwave pushing me away.

Having been channeling magic in my body, I was caught off guard by the sudden counterattack, and I felt my insides churn, making it impossible to land properly.

I rolled around clumsily a few times, and as soon as my stomach settled, I regained my posture. Channeling magic in front of them was underestimating them too much. Well, they did easily block a rock spear. They should be at least this strong.

“…Akash! I told you to keep her away gently!”

“You idiot, I really did push her gently! She’s not even hurt, why are you bitching again! Damn it, why should the brilliant me be involved in your stupid suicide attempt!”

…As expected, humans are not to be trusted. I reminded myself of this once again and infused magic into my sword. It would be weaker than channeling magic in real-time, but I wouldn’t have my insides churned like this when counterattacked.

“…I’m sorry. I really didn’t mean to. I apologize.”

“Shut up. You humans are not to be trusted.”

I took a stance to leap again and threw a few pebbles as a distraction. They were easily blocked since I didn’t channel any magic into them.

“…Sigh. Then, let’s do this. Akash. Close the book and put it on the ground.”

“Haha, you’ve finally gone mad. I’m leaving. If you’re going to die, die alone. Don’t drag me down with you.”

…What did that guy just say? The reason they were alive was entirely due to that guy named Akash, or more precisely, his grimoire. But he’s saying he won’t use it? What’s his intention?

“Where are you going? It’s an order.”

“…Damn. I didn’t expect to die so pointlessly like this.”

I didn’t know what kind of trick he was trying to pull, but it was good news that he was willingly turning off his barrier.

I briefly channeled magic into my legs and kicked off the ground, leaping towards them.

Even when I was right in front of him, he just stared at me with a determined expression.

“…Damn it!”

Seeing that, I couldn’t bring myself to cut him down, so I just knocked him over and mounted him.

The guy, whose back was scraped from being dragged on the ground, let out a pained groan, but I didn’t have to consider that.

I pinned his legs down with my thighs. I pressed down on his stomach with my tail to completely subdue him, then brought the greatsword close to his neck.

I pushed the tip of the blade into the ground with one hand so that I could cut his neck at any time, like a guillotine.

“What… do you want?”

He must have wanted something from me to go this far. What could he possibly want so much that he would put on such a show?

My money? Treasure? Horns? Or my heart or other body parts? None of them were particularly important.

If I didn’t like it, I could just cut him down.

“You’re finally talking to me. Ugh, it’s nothing much. I was just wondering if you could… become my companion.”

“…What?”

What this guy wanted wasn’t my horns, heart, money, or the shiny things I collected in my dwelling. What this guy wanted was me, myself.

“…Was it too sudden? Sorry if I startled you. Still, I’m in desperate need of a companion, so I came here grasping at straws. Is there any way…?”

“Get lost.”

That was all it was. What they longed for and desired was my power. The power I inherited from my cursed father.

I didn’t feel like killing a guy who was unarmed and had surrendered, so I dismounted and returned my greatsword to the ground.

“Get lost. Disappear.”

“W-wait a minute. If there was anything you didn’t like, I’ll apologize! So, just one more time…!”

I pulled my greatsword out of the ground again and held it in front of his neck.

“While I’m still talking. Get lost.”

“Ufufu, looks like you failed miserably. And you even made her angry. You’re completely screwed, aren’t you, our interpreter Hero? You even failed at your only skill, conversation?”

After lightly hitting the mage who was being annoying on the head with a pebble, I pressed the sword closer, applying more pressureUnable to endure it any longer, the black-haired one picked up his grimoire and told the white-haired one to return.

“…I’ll come again tomorrow. Goodbye.”

“Then I’ll kill you.”

I erased the image of the guy who was still smiling kindly until the end from my mind and returned to my dwelling. I wasted my energy for nothing.

My head was throbbing a bit because I had been active when I should have been resting. Maybe eating something delicious would help.

…As for the blue potion, that’s only for when I’m really exhausted. So, it’s out of the question.

– – – –

“…Hero! You’re alive! When Ms. Yuna carried the bloodied Finn on her back and said that the Hero’s party went to meet that monstrous thing, I really thought you were dead, but you’re different, Hero!”

The receptionist was startled at the sight of us and welcomed our return. Akash, as usual, poured out curses, but the receptionist seemed to have received a hint from Yuna in the meantime and was ignoring him. Akash was indignant, but she still treated him as if he were invisible.

“Ms. Yuna is staying in the accommodation on the second floor. She reserved the Wood Room and the Sun Room, and she’s staying in the Wood Room, so the Hero and… um. Yes. This person here can stay in the Sun Room. Oh, or are the two of you… sharing a room? Hehe.”

It’s unfortunate news for the receptionist who made a mischievous joke, but that will never happen between her and me.

“Roll around with that orc who pretends to be an elf? Haha! I’d rather have a dwarven whore! Or a succubus. Anything would be better than her.”

I lightly tapped the bump on his head that made the slip of the tongue and went up to the second floor. Akash groaned in pain and complained, but he eventually followed me obediently.

I examined the words written on the signs and knocked on the door that said ‘Wood’. Soon, Yuna opened the door and came out.

“Who is it… Oh. You’re alive. That’s a relief, I don’t have to find another employer.”

“Yeah. Are Finn and Jake okay?”

When I saw them last, they looked beyond recovery. However, Yuna fluently explained how they were treated.

Even the part about cutting off the burned parts that I didn’t want to know. To get to the point, they were so healthy that they were crying.

“…Yeah, as long as they’re safe. You said you had something to talk about with Akash? Here. Here you go.”

“Hey. Hey hey hey hey. Wait a minute. Where are you going? Do you want to see me die? I’ll really die? I’ll be killed? Hey, where are you going? Where are you going!”

“I heard everything, Akash. How dare you say I’m worse than a dwarven whore? An orc? Well then, I’ll show you that power…!”

Even though she said that, I knew she would stop short of actually sending him to the temple, so I left them alone and went back to the receptionist.

“…Oh. Weren’t you resting? Do you have any other business…?”

It was a business, but it would be more appropriate to say it was a personal question. It was about that girl. I was wondering if there was anything that could help me recruit her as a companion.

“Can you tell me everything you know about that half-dragon girl who came around noon today?”

“The monstrous thing… Yes. According to the records, she was first discovered five years ago.”

Five years ago, a resident found her wandering around a private house and called the guards and adventurers to deal with her, which led to a battle.

As a result, half of the village was destroyed. Many people were injured, and even the Adventurer’s Guild building collapsed, causing many adventurers to be injured or inconvenienced, the receptionist said.

“…Unfortunately, my predecessor also lost his life in that accident. Fortunately, the nearby cities and kind adventurers helped rebuild the village, so it was able to recover, but when I came, the village had lost its vitality.”

Expedition parties were formed to subdue her, but they were either wiped out by unexplained landslides or went missing in groups, she continued with a chilling expression.

“…They must have been attacked so badly that not even their bodies could be found. The poor people… The villagers were terrified. She came down almost every month to plunder goods. She didn’t cause the same level of destruction as before, but that alone made the villagers weary. It was hard even for me to watch. Then, a small miracle happened. The monster that had been causing all that destruction suddenly attempted to barter.”

It was called bartering, but she would just throw monster hides, valuable internal organs, or magic stones and then plunder as usual. However, the village, which received something of greater value than what was plundered every month, quickly prospered and became what it is today.

“…Sometimes people formed raiding parties to hunt her down, but they were all defeated. It’s true that the village developed thanks to her… but honestly, it’s a bit unsettling. We don’t know when she might start plundering or causing destruction again.”

“…I see. You must have had a hard time.”

“No, it’s nothing. Compared to the adventurers and guards who are struggling, this is nothing. I even had the leisure to teach her a few words.”

So, she learned those clumsy words from the receptionist. I roughly understood the story. And what had happened to her all this time.

And how I should approach her to win her over.