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

Myungho told me not to cause a ruckus inside the city. This was outside the city. But… if I caused a ruckus here, it would be impossible to enter the city.

I clicked my tongue briefly and glared at the guards blocking my way.

Their faces were covered by helmets, but I could feel them flinch. However, they did not remove the weapons blocking my path. Rather, they tightened their grip on their weapons.

They were dedicated to their duty. But if they were blocking my way… it would become very annoying.

I circulated magic through my horn, intending to create a wall between them and me and enter very politely, but Myungho stepped in front of me and stopped me.

“May I ask the purpose of this inspection? I apologize for the late introduction. I am Jin Myungho, the Hero of Collucia. This here is Altera, a member of my party, and she does not understand human language. Please be understanding of her actions.”

The guards looked at Myungho with suspicion, as if they did not believe his words, but soon they recognized his unique medal and showed respect.

“Ah, so you are a Hero on a mission. It is an honor to meet you. Recently, there has been a surge in drugs, including the Wahanshin, flowing in from Goldsmett, so the new lord has ordered us to inspect everyone coming and going from the city to see if they are carrying drugs. We apologize. Would you please cooperate?”

Behind the guards, others with silver identification tags were waiting with weapons in hand.

If I had come alone, they would have surely attacked by now, but they only looked at me with tense gazes, seeing my identification tag and Myungho.

“Drugs… Yes. Very well. We do not carry such things. Here, take a look. But what about them?”

Myungho’s eyes also lingered on the people behind the guards, and he asked about their identity.

“When we say we are inspecting, there are always some who cause a disturbance, so the lord hired these people for the safety of us guards. Thanks to them, the number of injuries and drug dealers escaping has decreased significantly, so we are always grateful to them and the lord.”

Another guard answered instead of the one who asked. I still did not understand what they were saying, but the guards here seemed much happier than the ones in the cities I had visited. Was it just my imagination?

“Hired, you say. Hmm. Goldsmett did not have such things…”

“Of course they wouldn’t. How could the source of drugs be normal? I don’t know if they made a deal with a demon or what, but it’s only natural for a place that’s grown as bloated as a drowned corpse over the past five years. Those unlucky bastards, do they only care about their own well-being? When they were originally just a mining town.”

The guard suddenly burst into anger, but since Myungho was also cooperating with them, I took a step back from the guards.

“Um… Altera. These people are going to check if we have any drugs or… bad things in our luggage. So they need to check your things too, is that okay?”

What surprised me was not that they were inspecting our luggage. It was that drugs existed. That was what surprised me. There were drugs in this world too?

…Humans. Back on Earth, I knew someone who used them, so I knew how quickly they could ruin a person. To think they were making such things in this world too.

How awful. I shook my head internally and said it was fine to inspect. They were not taking anything, just looking, so I did not mind.

In fact, I did not feel bad about showing them what I had. They even admired my belongings and looked at the gold coins with envy.

“…Alright, nothing in your belongings. Hero, have you hidden any drugs in your clothing or… inside your body? I apologize for the disrespectful suspicion, but we have seen some who actually smuggled them in that way.”

“No. I swear on my ho… country, Collucia, and the name of the Goddess.”

Now that the inspection was finally over, Myungho and the others passed between the guards. I was about to pass too, but I stopped when a guard placed a hand on my shoulder.

“…What is it? Is there a problem with her?”

As always, I was about to cut him with my claws or tail, but I barely managed to stop myself, remembering Myungho’s words. If it weren’t for this guy, I would have drawn blood a long time ago.

“This young lady here has been covering her right arm. We need to check it.”

“Ah… Altera. Can you show your right arm? They say they’re concerned because you’ve been covering it. We’re almost done, no problems. Please.”

When I stroked my right arm, there were still some scales remaining.

It would be fine to show them. Among the adventurers who came to kill me, there was one of a strange race whose entire body was covered in scales.

But I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to show others the proof of this cursed blood.

So I forcefully tore off the remaining scales. The nearby skin and flesh came off as well, and drops of blood flowed to the ground.

The guards were startled when the drops of blood hit the ground, but I didn’t care, so I held out my right arm. The wound that hadn’t healed yet, the wound that was healing, and the right arm that had already healed and returned to normal.

There were no scales.

“Th… that’s enough. Go… go on. N, next!”

As if nothing had happened, I joined the others and asked Myungho.

“I held back pretty well, didn’t I?”

Myungho looked at me as if he didn’t understand, but he said what I wanted to hear.

“…Yeah, you did well. But… I’m not sure if you really had to hurt yourself… You had a reason for that… right?”

Hurt myself? I just destroyed the evidence of the cursed blood. Besides, that doesn’t even count as self-harm. It’s almost healed already, see?

When I didn’t say anything and just walked, Myungho seemed to give up on asking and walked with me.

“To spill such precious blood on the ground. If I had known, I would have prepared a bottle.”

“You… never mind. I won’t say anything. I was foolish to expect any manners or common sense from you…”

The scenery beyond the ramparts was not much different from the cities I had occasionally visited. But the biggest difference was that instead of guards surrounding me, there were ordinary people.

Most of them were human, but as I looked, I saw some who were not human. Some were similar to those I had killed while reclaiming the village.

It felt a little reassuring, like I was blending into a normal life.

Of course, the crowd parting like the Red Sea before Moses, staring at my horns, tail, body, or identification tag, was not normal. But at least it was better than the guards.

So this is what everyday life in a normal city is like. I took it all in with my two eyes and imagined a hypothetical story. What if I had grown up normally in a city?

Even though I knew it was meaningless.

“…So. Altera, how do you like Enshullos? Do you like it?”

“At least there are no people pointing swords at me. And the people seem lively.”

Maybe. I had a thought. If I cut off my father’s head and returned, could I live in a place like this?

The guards didn’t make a fuss about my appearance, so maybe the people would just think I was a bit unusual and move on.

“I’m glad you like it. Then let’s go find a room, whether it’s at the adventurer’s guild or an inn. This luggage is… heavy.”

He was carrying something lighter than mine, yet he was exaggerating. Still, it was true that it was easier to get around without luggage, so I decided to listen to him.

– – – –

Most adventurer’s guilds have their own affiliated lodging, but sometimes, in very relaxed places, they create lodging within the guild itself.

It was like that in many places besides Goldsmett, and Enshullos was the same. There was nothing like that when I traveled around Collucia. To think it became so prosperous just by crossing the sea.

It must be a very cursed land, I thought to myself as I asked the receptionist.

“Excuse me, we’re looking for a room to stay in. Are there any rooms available?”

“Are you adventurers? Oh… Gold rank! And the Hero’s emblem?! W, wait a moment…! Where is it… You are the Hero of Collucia! Just a moment… Yes! There are two rooms left! Do you have any companions?”

The reactions in Collucia were lukewarm, but across the sea, the reactions were so positive.

…Among the Heroes who wandered around without protecting the place they were summoned to, there were many who were quite strong and admired. My reputation probably hasn’t spread this far yet.

“Yes, here. Four of us.”

“Wow… So many gold ranks…! So this is what it takes to be a Hero… Yes, then could you please write your names in the register? So I can calculate the fee!”

In reality, there was one effective silver rank and one gold rank who couldn’t use magic properly, so my conscience twinged, but Altera, who was beyond gold rank, was here, so it should be fine.

Some places required payment to stay, while others let you stay for free. This seemed to be a place that required payment.

Interestingly, there was also a section for race. Did they calculate the fee based on race? I wrote my name and added ‘human’ next to it, then filled in Akash and Yuna’s information as well.

For Altera… I knew the pronunciation but not the spelling, so I wrote it phonetically. I paused for a moment at the race section and then wrote ‘half dragon’.

“Yes, two humans, one elf, and a half… dragon? Eh? Half dragon?”

Altera. The receptionist read the word and looked at Altera. Well, half dragons were usually the protagonists of fairy tales or the villains of myths.

Dragons were treated as fearsome beings because there were many cases of hunting their subspecies and sightings.

“Um, so… there… could I see that lady’s identification tag…? Gold 1… Altera… issued by… Goldsmett…? Wait a minute. Then, are you the Half Dragon of Goldsmett…?!”

The receptionist spoke loudly in surprise, causing a commotion in the guild. I knew from the moment I entered that the people here didn’t like Goldsmett very much…

But would anyone believe the rumor that Goldsmett’s growth was powered by a half dragon? There was really no way of knowing.

But the receptionist seemed to truly believe it.

“…Why is she suddenly like that?”

Altera stood there blankly, seemingly unaware that she was the cause of this commotion.

How do I handle this?