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

It seemed that a week of persuasion had some meaning, as I could definitely feel her attitude had softened. If we had gone on the first day, she would have attacked without caring. But not today.

She asked me about Yuna and our relationship. Instead of just jumping out or throwing a sword. And even the visible agitation at the end. My steps naturally became lighter at the thought that I might really succeed.

Even if I brought her food or other things, the amount I had spent so far was barely one gold. It was like blowing the money I received as a service fee, but I didn’t really mind.

Rather, it was unbelievable that I could recruit a half dragon as a companion for just one gold. In the first place, that one gold was money I received just for standing there.

“You seem to be in a good mood, Myungho. This is the first time I’ve seen you express your emotions like this. Are you looking forward to it?”

“Yeah. Yuna, don’t you feel it too? Altera was really contemplating. I don’t understand what she’s saying, but I could roughly tell by her expression.”

“That’s true. From my perspective, Altera also seemed to be deep in thought.”

“If you guys say so, then it must be true. Still, you know, you should fix that nasty habit of trying to get things for free with just one gold and sweet talk. Isn’t that a bit too shameless? Just one gold to recruit a dragon? Are you kidding me? Is a dragon some cheap mercenary you can find on the street?”

Akash complained, looking at Yuna, but since she seemed to have almost come around, I decided to let it go this time. Yuna didn’t, but it was a story that didn’t matter.

“Hey, hey, hey, stop, stop! My head’s going to break, it’s going to break!”

“…I still can’t understand. How can a mage who speaks so frivolously be a fraction of the Four Heavenly Kings?”

“A person can talk like shit sometimes, fuck! Let go of this! It’s really going to break!”

When Akash earnestly asked, Yuna looked at him with pity and let go. Because Yuna had lifted him into the air by his head, he fell to the ground quite awkwardly on his butt.

“…Ugh, that… Huff. Alright. So, where are we going next, Captain? Just wherever our feet take us, like always?”

“Well. I guess so? There’s no particular signal from the mainland. The map… isn’t very accurate, either. I think it would be fine to just go on an adventure wherever our feet take us.”

If it seemed unplanned, that was correct. The mainland had half given up on this Hero, so I might as well think positively. There are still places in this world that humans haven’t set foot in, so it wouldn’t be bad to go to such places.

“…Adventures are certainly enjoyable, but I think we should visit a dwarven village soon. I’m almost out of arrows. I also need to adjust my arm.”

Ah, right. Looking at Yuna’s quiver, it was definitely almost empty. At most, there were about ten or so arrows left. I wasn’t sure if there was a dwarven village nearby, though.

“Alright. Let’s go down then. Be alert, since we don’t know what kind of beast might appear.”

It wasn’t very convincing since I was saying this while being so lax myself. It was understandable since the most threatening animal we had encountered in the mountains during the past week was a hungry wolf.

When we returned to the city, it was bustling for some reason, just like when she had arrived. I couldn’t hear the same strangely excited chatter from back then.

The source of the commotion was the Adventurer’s Guild, so I slightly urged my companions and headed there. And I immediately understood why the atmosphere was so chaotic.

Upon entering the guild, it was much more crowded than usual, but it was as quiet as a mouse. The receptionist was talking to a man who looked like a nobleman, holding a request form, with a worried expression.

“…I am well aware of your family’s reputation, but it is still too dangerous. It would be better to challenge it after making sufficient preparations…”

“No. I will do it. I have already made all the preparations I can. I have given all the soldiers sacks of dragon poison ivy and weapons made of magic-consuming metal, and their morale is sky-high. And I have also gathered information about the target.”

It seemed to be a mercenary group or some similar group that had come to capture Altera. Anyway, I quietly listened to their conversation.

“Then you must know how powerful it is. Countless people have challenged the feat of dragon slaying, and there have been many attempts to hunt in groups like you, sir. And their endings were all the same. Are you challenging this knowing all of this?”

“Yes. I have devoted the past five years to this day. I have nowhere left to retreat to. I will either hunt the dragon and raise my family, or die with my family.”

He seemed to be someone trying to revive his family through the dragon’s heart. Perhaps a member of a prestigious family on the verge of ruin. But no matter how I looked at it, they didn’t seem like a group that could succeed.

I didn’t know what kind of members were needed to hunt a dragon in the first place, but at least this group was far from enough.

The soldiers’ morale was high, but their abilities seemed lacking, and the ones who could be called veterans were secretly muttering words of doubt. It was unsettling from the start.

“Oh, what to do? Your girlfriend is about to be killed by those guys over there.”

“No, that’s not enough. Myungho, you think so too, right?”

“Yeah. It seems a bit difficult.”

A bit, no, a lot. Since I spoke quietly, I didn’t get into a fight with the people over there, but a few of them did glare at me.

The person who seemed to be the leader went up to a table and gave a speech, boosting the soldiers’ morale. There were adventurers around who protested, but his voice was so loud that they were all drowned out.

“…So, Captain. Are you just going to leave them be? No matter how strong that woman is, I don’t think she can kill all of these without getting hurt. If you want to at least show some sincerity, shouldn’t you help a little?”

Akash was saying it so casually, but what he was saying was not something to be taken lightly.

Even though I was a Hero, as long as I was registered as an adventurer, harming other adventurers was taboo.

If I broke the taboo… well. My name would be written on the request board over there. Was there really a need to take such a risk? After all the hardships I went through to get the gold tag.

…Come to think of it, the value of a half dragon might be worth losing the gold tag and becoming a wanted criminal. But I wondered if I really had to sell my future like that.

“Well, we’ll have to see what happens. First, get some rest. But stay alert. We don’t know when we might have to follow them.”

Akash and Yuna bickered but immediately went up to the second floor.

As for me… should I try to probe those guys over there? The speech was over, the noise had died down, and the soldiers were gradually leaving the guild building.

From what I heard, they were going to get supplies nearby, so the nobleman who seemed to be the leader was naturally still inside.

“Excuse me, you’re going to hunt the half dragon?”

“Hmm? Who are you? Are you perhaps an adventurer who wants to join us? But unfortunately, we are already full.”

He was already doomed from thinking he could catch her… I didn’t think Altera would be caught by these small fries. But I didn’t want these people to all die either.

“No, I have no intention of joining. Rather, I came to ask if you were really going to challenge the feat of dragon slaying. Actually, I… I’ve met that dragon. I’ve even fought her a few times.”

It wasn’t a lie. She wasn’t going all out, and I was just blocking her attacks, but a fight is a fight. I had met her just a few hours ago.

“Really?! No, how… I see! That insignia, you are the Hero of Collucia! Indeed, if it’s a Hero, you would be able to stand against a dragon! I dare to make a proposal to you, Hero. Would you like to challenge the feat of dragon slaying with me?!”

As soon as I said that, the way he looked at me changed. Before I revealed it, he just glanced at me, but after I spoke, he suddenly started scanning me.

“I’ll say it again, no. My blessing is not for combat. And… well. Yes. Let’s just leave it at that for now.”

There was no need to reveal that I had built up a friendship with her. Although I questioned whether it could be called a friendship. And… there was another reason, but I didn’t plan to reveal it to my party members either.

“Is that so… That’s unfortunate. If you change your mind later, please come anytime. We will be leaving for the dragon’s lair in the evening.”

Evening. It was a place that was hard to see even during the day, so going in the evening was practically suicide. There were so many things to point out, but it didn’t seem like he would change anything even if I pointed it out, and he didn’t seem to have any intention of changing, so I just kept my mouth shut and gave a suitable response before leaving.

I had a very bad feeling. A premonition of a bloodbath. My intuition isn’t very accurate, but I still had that feeling this time.

There was still a lot of time until evening, so I decided to get some sleep.

– – – –

“Gaaah… Haa…! Haa─!”

It hurts. It feels like my horns are digging into my bones. My forearms itch. My legs feel like they’re going to burst. My back feels twisted. It feels like my heart is going to jump out of my mouth.

I thought I could easily kill the small fry. But I was wrong. Every single one of them scattered poison when they died or were armed with strange weapons that pierced through magic barriers.

This is why I hated it. This is why I hated it. I didn’t want this. I tried to catch my breath, breathing heavily.

But it itched and hurt as if something was trying to break through my skin.

Even though I knew there was nothing there, I couldn’t stand it and scratched my whole body with my nails. After scratching for a while, there were pieces of skin stuck under my nails.

And under the torn skin, unsightly black scales appeared.

My, hands too. My feet too. When did this happen? The bandages I had wrapped around were already torn to shreds by the scales.

The bandage wrapped around my chest was barely holding on, and it was covered in blood.

As if possessed, I approached the pool of blood of the guy I had just killed and checked my reflection.

My arms and legs were already covered in scales, and only the valley of my chest was barely covered, with only a bit of flesh remaining.

Under my eyes, under my chin, and on my neck, scales had grown.

Scales.

The evidence of that cursed blood had sprouted all over.

…I can’t forgive them. Making me, into this?

“…I won’t let a single one of you, live.”

I wiped the blood off my hands and flew towards the light of the only remaining torch.