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

The language humans used was unfamiliar. It wasn’t about being inferior or anything like that. It was definitely harder to learn compared to the Korean I still remembered. The pronunciation and the letters were all strange.

It seemed harder even compared to the language Mother taught me.

Perhaps that wasn’t the case. The reason I thought the language Mother taught me was easier might be because it was the first language of this world I learned.

There was nothing to compare it to, and even then, I hadn’t learned advanced grammar or anything like that.

…Although the reason I couldn’t learn was because of that damn father.

“…Altera? Are you having trouble concentrating? If so, tell me. It’s better to learn when you want to than to force yourself.”

It wasn’t exactly like that, but my concentration was indeed starting to wane, so I accepted Myungho’s suggestion.

“…Then let’s take a short break. It’s getting boring.”

“Even so, this is quite impressive. Honestly, I thought you’d just skim through a few pages and quit. But you sat through almost the entire thing in one go. I’m surprised.”

…What does this guy think of me? I lightly kicked his shin with my tail and threw myself onto the straw bed.

The sensation of a few straws breaking and the hard texture came through the cloak. I could say with certainty that this was worse than the leather bed in my cave.

The sheet was also worn, showing the straw through, and it wasn’t even soft. Humans living in such a poor and harsh environment were likely to be full of spite, so how could that guy so casually ask me to trust them?

Even in the affluent village, people looked at me with eyes gleaming with greed.

As I lay there with my legs crossed, Myungho, perhaps finding the silence unbearable, stroked his bruised knee and suddenly asked me a question.

“Altera. What was your mother like? No, not in a bad way. It just seems like you love your mother very much.”

Hmm. It wasn’t in a bad way, and there was no reason not to tell him. I opened one eye and looked at the cracks in the ceiling, recalling what kind of person Mother was.

“…She was a benevolent person. She spent most of her time in her room doing complex… research or something. But even so, when I went in, she didn’t get angry and push me away, and she played with me when I was young.”

“Research? You don’t know what kind of research?”

I was young, lacked knowledge, and hadn’t awakened this power yet, so there was no way for me to know. Still…

“Shining stones… and a blue light floating in the air. I don’t know anything beyond that. Anyway, she seemed somehow tense and tired. It didn’t take long for me to realize that the reason was because of my father.”

“…That’s unfortunate.”

“Still, she told me to survive every time she saw me. Even if she disappeared, she told me to think of this necklace as her and to survive no matter what.”

I gripped the necklace tightly. Strangely, when I held the crystal, I felt the warmth of my mother. Was it because the stone Mother was experimenting with was the crystal on this necklace?

“I see… There’s nothing I can say to that… Um. You’ve really been through a lot. And if you have any worries, tell us. You’re not alone anymore, we’re together, right?”

Did he have to say such embarrassing things? I roughly ignored him, pushed the bed away with my tail, got up, and went back to sit next to Myungho.

“I’ve rested enough, let’s start again. There’s not much left, so let’s finish it quickly.”

Even though we only rested for a few minutes, it was enough time to recharge since I didn’t need sleep. Myungho seemed a little surprised but soon opened the book and taught me the remaining words.

“…Well, that’s all that’s written in this book. I thought it would take at least a month to teach you everything… You’re fast. Still, I’ll check if you’ve learned it properly, so review it.”

There were many sounds that required rolling the tongue, so it didn’t quite stick in my mouth. How could they speak this language without getting their tongues twisted?

“Tongue, teeth, sun, moon, land, wate… no, water.”

It seemed like it would take a long time to get used to it. As I was struggling to practice the pronunciation, the door burst open and Yuna came in.

“Myungho! The villagers are having a feast outside to celebrate reclaiming the village, can you help a bit? The village chief is busy preparing food, so I came instead. Akash is grilling the meat.”

“Oh, really? I can’t miss a feast. Altera, the villagers are having a feast. Do you want to join? Akash is cooking.”

“That ill-tempered and eccentric mage? He can cook?”

“His personality is a bit off, but his cooking skills are top-notch. He says it’s a dish praised even by the demon king… Well, I don’t know if that’s true or not.”

A feast? The villagers, who don’t have much, are having a feast?

I looked out the window to see if I had misheard, but there were indeed several humans gathered together, making a lot of noise. In the center, a slaughtered animal was being roasted whole.

They really are doing it. As soon as I saw that, I suspected they might put something in the food to do something strange.

And the guy overseeing the food preparation is Akash. Considering his bizarre behavior during the day, he wasn’t a trustworthy guy.

“No…”

Oh. I swallowed the words that had reached my throat. Whether I liked it or not, he was someone I would have to travel with for a long time, and Myungho had asked me to trust the villagers a bit.

“No…?”

More than anything, I didn’t think those weaklings could do anything to me. Even if I was poisoned, I could sweep away a subjugation team, so some feeble humans were nothing.

“…I mean, sure. I’ll go, I’ll go. But don’t think about making me do anything.”

I contributed the most to reclaiming this village, so they shouldn’t make me do anything more. It’s definitely not because of my clumsy handiwork.

“Oh, you’ll go? Great! Yuna, I’ll go! Tell them to set aside the most delicious part for Altera!”

“Understood! You! Set aside the most delicious part! It’s for Altera!”

…In the past, I think I liked feasts. I had forgotten about them since coming to this world, living like a barbarian with walls around me.

The pleasant noise. The voices of people filled with anticipation and hope. The faces smiling despite having no guarantee that tomorrow would be better.

Myungho joined the ranks of that joy, chatting and laughing and having a good time.

…I thought about getting closer, but I stopped because of my noticeable tail.

There’s no place for a monster where humans live. If I approached, that laughter would soon fade, and an uncomfortable silence would fall.

I don’t like humans, but I like the happy sounds they make. It reminds me of good memories from the past.

So, this distance is just right.

For them and for me.

As I enjoyed their actions and laughter, using the tree as my companion, the atmosphere seemed to ripen, and the food prepared by Akash was placed on the table.

It looks delicious. Is there a place for me? While I was trying to read the mood, Myungho called me.

“Altera! Sorry, I said we’d be together but left you alone… Ah, hot, hot, could you make a stand with some branches? It’s getting hot…!”

He brought over a large piece of meat and other dishes on a plate.

The meat, with its juices flowing and steam rising, looked so delicious that it made my mouth water just looking at it, but the juices were flowing onto Myungho’s skin, so I made a stand for him to set it down.

“It’s okay. It’s probably better for them if I’m not there. More importantly… is it safe?”

Regardless of how delicious it looked, they could have put something strange in it.

“Don’t worry about that. The villagers are eating it too, and no one is rolling on the floor or anything. Wait a moment, I’ll get some fire…”

Saying that, Myungho hurried off and soon returned with a pair of tongs, placing a burning coal under the stand. The already delicious-looking food being heated up made it hard to resist.

“Looks good, right? Wait. I know how to make it even better. If I sprinkle this on it… There. Now eat. Wipe your drool.”

I thought I had been eating pretty well until now. But comparing what I had been eating to what was in front of me felt like an insult to the meat.

It was still a bit hot to eat with my bare hands, but I couldn’t wait any longer. As if possessed, I grabbed the ends of the bone with both hands and took a large, rough bite.

The crispy outer layer, comparable to a cookie, burst with salt and spices with each chew. The inside was moist and full of juice, balancing out the potentially overwhelming flavors.

“…Delicious.”

“Right? I told you Akash is good at cooking. Eat as much as you want! It’s not much, but… there’s still plenty left for you.”

With each breath, the heat filling my body came out. The spicy, oily, and salty flavors blended perfectly, opening up a new horizon of taste.

“Delicious, delicious!”

“Ahaha… Is it that good? This must have really hit the spot.”

“More!”

“Alright, Akash! Give me a few more of those! What? You’re tired? You didn’t do anything during the fight! You should work for it!”

For the first time, I truly thought it was a good thing that I followed these guys.