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

Thanks to Altera giving up sleep for five days and taking the lead, guiding us while keeping watch, our mountain trek progressed smoothly. Akash also said that at this speed, we could cross in a week and a half instead of two weeks.

Altera looked tired, but she said that since she had avoided battles, she still had some stamina left. I asked if she was pushing herself too hard, but she replied that she wasn’t, so I tried to keep up the momentum, but…

Altera suddenly stopped while walking briskly. Was there another enemy in front, or some other threat? As I approached to ask her, she spoke as soon as I went behind her.

“…Let’s rest today. It’s raining. We have plenty of time, and I’m a bit tired…”

It seemed that even for her, a five-day forced march was a bit too much. Besides, Altera didn’t like water much, so it seemed that rain was no exception.

“Okay, then. Let’s rest today. Um… there’s no suitable place to dig a cave here. Sorry, Altera. I think it would be better to move a little more and find a place to rest.”

“What, rest? Then follow me. I know a place that’s much better than a burrow or a small cave. It was probably around here… right?”

Akash suddenly started heading somewhere on his own, saying he knew a place to rest. Even when I asked where he was going, he didn’t answer and just kept going, which was suspicious, so I used the imprint to stop him, and only then did he answer.

“Oh, come on… can’t you trust me a little by now? I told you. It’s a much better place than a burrow or a cave. At least it’s a building built by humans.”

“Even if I try to trust you, when I allowed a powerful spell once, you ‘accidentally’ dropped an ice spear or lightning on the estate. I can’t trust you even if I try.”

“I told you it was a real mistake… Alright, let’s hurry up. In my experience, the weather here can get really bad in an instant. You don’t want to get soaked to your underwear, do you?”

I wondered if being that untrustworthy was a talent in itself. Thinking that, I followed him.

The raindrops, which were at first just a drizzle, suddenly became heavier. As it did, Altera’s face grew more anxious and dissatisfied.

“Are we there yet? How far do we have to go!”

The wind and torrential rain were so fierce that it was impossible to convey one’s voice through normal conversation. Akash, having heard my urging, tapped a small hill and said they had arrived.

“That’s it?! I don’t see anything! Oh… wait. Hey, wait! Guys, let’s go inside!”

Akash naturally broke through the hill and went inside. Momentarily stunned by the incomprehensible sight, I stared blankly, then followed him inside the hill.

Inside the hill, there was a hidden space like something out of a game. Pushing open a door that was almost rotten and about to fall off, a large room appeared.

Looking around the room, in one corner were weapons with rotten handles and rusted blades, and on the other side, wooden furniture that was also rotten and useless, entangled with skeletons.

Unlike the desolate and abandoned-looking scenery, the lamps attached to the walls were burning with a strange blue light.

“…Putting aside what happened here, Akash. How did you know about this place? In the first place… what is this place…? Is it some kind of outpost?”

“That’s right, an outpost. A long time ago… before I worked with the demon king. I had some business in this country that used to be here. What are you looking at? Don’t look at me like that, I have nothing to do with their disappearance.

Anyway. I stayed at this base for a while on the way here. They were some guys with great beer. What happened to them? It looks like they all died at once while sitting and eating.”

…What on earth was Akash’s true identity? I pushed the question aside along with the debris. As he said, there were cracked dishes on the rotten table.

The reason why the country that existed in this mountain range was destroyed to the point where even Akash didn’t know is shrouded in mystery. Investigation teams returned without any significant results.

Altera took off her cloak and was wiping her wet horns and body. I could faintly see scales through the wet bandages, but I deliberately looked away.

“…Wait, Altera. This would be better for drying your body. So… was it this one? Fire, blaze.”

There were plenty of firewood lying around, so I gathered them together and lit a small flame at my fingertips. It might seem like nothing at the third circle, but lighting a fire was easy.

I opened the door to let the smoke out, then threw the flame at the firewood. Perhaps because it was already very dry, unlike when I lit it outside, it started burning in an instant.

As soon as I lit the fire, she crouched down by the fire and dried her body. Well, she did say she rusted herself.

Still, she seemed a bit too desperate. I did think that.

Yuna also sat near Altera and dried her body, and so did I. I wasn’t too wet thanks to my outer garment, but it was still bothersome.

I’m glad I bought a waterproof backpack. Otherwise, my maps and books would have been soaked.

“…Altera. Can you make something like a bowl and put it outside? To collect some rainwater.”

“Not now, later.”

She said that and sat blankly in front of the fire again. Then she took a book from my backpack and brought it with her sack.

She must be trying to dry the sack. As for the book… Ah, right. For five days, I followed her closely, focusing all my energy. Naturally, there was no time to teach her to speak.

“Alright, I’ll teach you. So… where were we? Was it here? But didn’t you say you were sleepy? Are you sure you can learn properly?”

I thought it was here. She shook her head, took my hand, and flipped two pages back.

“We were here. And… I’m sleepy, but I still have some sense left. Yes. I think so. Probably.”

That ‘probably’ was a bit unsettling. But she still seemed bright-eyed, so I thought it would be okay to teach her. The part I was teaching now wasn’t that difficult either.

While I was teaching her for a while, Akash, perhaps bored, strolled over, looked at her, and said mockingly.

“Hey, earthworm. Are you digging into the ground again? That’s fascinating. Do you eat it because it’s tasty? Or do you eat it because you need to? I’m not teasing you, I’m genuinely curious.”

Not only me but also Yuna and Akash knew that she ate ore. It was revealed in the dwarf village after all.

But Akash still wanted to tease her.

It’s not fair to tease someone who doesn’t know the language with words they don’t understand. With that thought, I cautioned him.

“Akash, how many times have I told you not to call Altera that? She’s not an earthworm, she’s a half dragon.”

“Same difference. Anyway, that looks like iron. Are your teeth okay?”

But he didn’t stop. Altera was glaring at him fiercely when he called her a worm.

“Do you not have a mother?”

She asked, clearly enunciating the words I had taught her, about Akash’s parentage.

“…Altera! What’s gotten into you!”

“He’s making me angry by calling me a worm.”

Akash, who hadn’t expected an answer from her, paused for a moment, then burst into laughter as if he had seen something enjoyable and gave her an answer she couldn’t possibly understand.

“Hahaha, haah. My original body might not have, but this one probably did? Sorry, it was so long ago that I don’t remember. So to answer your question, yes. I have a mom.”

Altera glared at Akash as if she didn’t like him, then sat back down and urged me to continue teaching her.

…I never taught her to swear, but she can still do it.

“Altera, no matter how angry you are, I don’t think it’s right to ask that…”

“He shouldn’t have been fooling around in the first place. Now, just keep teaching me.”

She seems to be particularly harsh only when dealing with Akash. No, I don’t like Akash either.

Since I couldn’t say I didn’t understand, I stopped there and continued teaching her words. As I taught her, she eventually started dozing off.

“I guess that’s it for today. Akash. Don’t try anything funny, just make the bowls.”

He shrugged and created bowls large enough to collect water.

One good thing about this world is that there’s no pollution, so you can drink rainwater or river water. River water needs to be boiled, but rainwater is clean enough to drink as is.

I covered her with a blanket as she slept soundly by the campfire, making soft snoring sounds, and placed the bowls outside to collect rainwater.

It was hard to tell the time because the sky was dark, but the sun was shining brightly before the clouds came, so it probably wasn’t even evening yet.

“Akash. Do you have any idea when the rain will stop?”

“If I could go up above the sky and see, I could answer that. I don’t know from the ground. Just think of today as a day off. She seems to be in a pretty deep sleep.”

Since Altera, the guide, was asleep… even if the rain stopped, that would probably be the case.

“I don’t think we need a night watch. It’s unlikely that wild animals will accidentally find their way here.”

“Yeah, we’ve been pushing ourselves to the limit for five days, so let’s rest for a day. Then I’ll…!”

I spread out a blanket and took a spot to lie down as well.

It was a bit unsettling to be in the same space as skeletons…

Well, whatever. I should be grateful that at least they’re not rotting corpses. With that thought, I closed my eyes.