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

The next day. And the day after. And the day after that. For a whole week, they came without fail. I kept my guard up for a day or two, but eventually, even that faded away.

At some point, the white mage… Akash, was it? He didn’t even have his grimoire in hand anymore. And more than anything, the contents of the bags they brought changed every time.

And there wasn’t a single thing I didn’t like. Pieces of ham, finely ground spices. Even the chicken skewers they said they bought from a street vendor were delicious.

What will they bring today? I had no intention of becoming their companion no matter what they offered. But at least I hoped they’d stay for a long time. Forever, if possible.

That way, I could get more of this, for longer.

I sat on a stump in the path they always took, stroking my tail and wondering what today’s offering would be. Meat like last time? No. Candy today?

As I was having these pleasant anticipations, I felt a vibration. But this time it was a little different.

There was one more person. I immediately conjured a sword from the ground. It wouldn’t hurt to be prepared, no matter who it was. If my guess was correct, I might have to use the sword.

I just hoped it wouldn’t come to that. Myungho was one of the few decent humans I knew.

And decent humans, in my book, were completely harmless humans who didn’t scream, pull out a sword, or run away at the sight of me.

I wondered if I was being foolish, trusting them again after being betrayed so many times. With that thought, I slung the sword over my shoulder and headed towards the source of the vibration.

My eyesight wasn’t the best, so I had to get close, but the geographical advantage allowed me to hide and observe them.

As always, there was Myungho and Akash, and… a strange elf I’d never seen before. But different from the elves I knew.

One arm was a prosthetic made entirely of steel, and the bow on her back was also made of steel, even the string. Not only that, but her body looked very sturdy.

Of course, she’d have to be strong to handle something like that. Anyway, it wasn’t the image that came to mind when you thought of elves.

“…Myungho. Are you sure it’s really safe, and not just your imagination? I’m worried. Even without the rumors, she is a threatening creature, isn’t it? I heard she defeated several gold-ranked adventurers like myself.”

“No, it’s fine. She’s nicer than she looks. She seems a bit on edge because she’s been harassed many times and grew up among beasts instead of people.”

“Why don’t you just say you’re horny for her? It’s written all over your face. I think she’s pretty good-looking, too. If I had to choose, I’m more attracted to men than women, but I don’t see her as an equal… Well. Whatever. I told you before.”

“Akash. Please shut up. I never asked about your sexual preferences.”

The woman I’d never seen before was having some kind of conversation with them. I couldn’t understand what they were saying, but they seemed like companions.

“…So, it should have appeared around here… Altera! Are you listening? If you are, come out!”

I should be careful of that woman. I jumped down from the branch above them and landed. They seemed quite surprised, but as usual, Myungho put down the bag.

“…Who is that woman?”

Normally, I would have put away the greatsword and quickly devoured the contents of the bag, but I couldn’t because there was something I didn’t know.

Who knows? Maybe that arrow would try to split my skull while I was eating. I would definitely die if I got hit by that. My instincts were warning me. It looked like the arrow was made of metal, too.

If they shot an arrow like that from this distance, even I wouldn’t be able to react.

“Ah, this is Yuna. She’s our companion… well, more like a hired mercenary. Yuna, this is Altera. Not as scary as you thought, right?”

“I must admit, seeing it up close, even Akash has a point. Um… So, nice to meet you…?”

The woman named Yuna tried to use words at my level and greeted me. I couldn’t understand the first word, but I should still return the greeting.

“Nice to, meet you.”

Since they said she was their companion, I lowered my guard a little. But I wasn’t completely at ease. Things could suddenly change again.

I kept a close eye on their actions and checked what was in the bag today.

Various foods and snacks. And… a book? I tilted my head at the unfamiliar item. I looked at Myungho, wondering what he was thinking, but his expression was unreadable.

Did this bastard give me this knowing I can’t read? What? At least the cover looked like something a child would read.

…Well. I’ll put that aside for now. Today’s food was pretty good, too. But I still couldn’t figure out why he put the book in there, even after I finished eating.

“…To see a half dragon this close, it’s a fascinating experience. Myungho, did you use some kind of magic?”

“What could that idiot have done? He just talked to her, fed her, and now she’s eating to her heart’s content, thinking she got a sucker.”

Why were they whispering about someone eating? It was rude. I glared at them a little, and they quieted down again.

“So. Um. You’re wondering why I gave you the book, right? First, let me tell you what it is. It’s a children’s picture book. It’s perfect for learning words.”

“…I wouldn’t know even if I looked at it. There’s no one to teach me.”

Usually, parents teach this kind of thing. They point to things and say, this is an apple, this is whatever, and the child repeats after them.

…The problem is, my parents can’t do that. One of them wouldn’t, and the other isn’t in a state to do so.

“That’s… I’m sorry. But we can teach you instead. If you become our companion, we’ll teach you whenever we have time. And I haven’t told you this yet, but even though I’m weak, I’m still called a Hero. So if you come with us, people who want to bother you or target you won’t be able to approach you easily.”

As always, I was about to refuse, but that last offer made me hesitate.

It meant I wouldn’t have to deal with extermination squads or adventurers anymore. It was something I had been ignoring, but this peace wouldn’t last forever.

In the future, maybe until I died, I would meet those who wanted to kill me. If I could prevent that just by being with these guys…

…It was a tempting offer. At least I wouldn’t have to risk my life every day to find food or be on edge, worrying about when intruders might come.

“If you don’t want to, that’s fine. But think about it. We’re leaving in two days, so if you change your mind, come find us at the guild. You know? That building you go to often.”

Two days. I only had two more days to receive something from them. That was a shame.

…But if I went with them, I wouldn’t have to feel that way. It made me more conflicted. They wanted my cursed power, but they weren’t asking to rip out my heart or cut off my horns.

As I was deep in thought, he told me to think it over and left with his companions. I still held the sword in one hand, but in the other, I held the book.

I still had two days to think, so I didn’t need to decide right away.

After returning to my dwelling, I munched on the remaining snacks and looked at the book. Of course, I couldn’t understand any of it. I didn’t know how to read the letters next to the picture of an apple.

I think my mother taught me like this when I was young. But I forgot it all. There was no one to talk to, anyway.

As I did nothing but laze around until dusk, I started to wonder if I had become too complacent lately. Was it okay to just live off what humans gave me?

But I didn’t want to eat monsters or animals, either.

There was a clear difference in taste between eating to survive and eating for pleasure. I thought about just going with them, but I also hesitated to leave the place I lived.

More than anything, I was reluctant to leave the space I shared with my mother, possibly never to return.

…If I became a Hero’s companion, no one could easily touch me, right? As I was carefully considering Myungho’s offer, I sensed several people heading this way.

It was more than I could count on two hands. There were so many that the vibrations canceled each other out, making it hard to get an exact number.

To find out what was going on, I went out, and in the distance, I saw the light of torches. My eyesight wasn’t great, but it was good at catching light, so I sighed as soon as I saw them.

There were more than 30 torches.

It was too many. To gauge the exact number, I moved closer, trying to be as stealthy as possible, and it looked like there were easily over 100, not just 30.

The silver lining was that they didn’t seem too strong, but there were still too many. It was like an army was on the move.

“Find the dragon! This is the only way to restore our family! We can’t let the family that our ancestor, who achieved the feat of dragon slaying, built to fall! Move, move!”

As the one who seemed to be the leader shouted, the soldiers split into groups and scattered. It was too late to run now.

Then I had no choice but to fight. Besides, with that many…

…I had no choice but to rely on that damn power.

It would be ideal to kill the leader first, but he was surrounded by guys emitting refined auras that were obvious even from afar.

If I dealt with them and got surrounded by the small fry, I’d be in trouble. It would be better to take out the small fry first.

Shooting rocks was too loud and left a trail of shining magic, so it wasn’t a good choice for stealth.

The conclusion was to beat them up, one group at a time.

It was going to be a long fight. I infused my body with enough magic, then ambushed the passing soldiers by dropping down from a branch above.