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

The guards were a nuisance on the way out, too, but since I didn’t have any luggage with me, it didn’t take that long. Myungho took a while because he had to dig through his pockets, but I didn’t have any place to hide anything.

The fur hide was too thin to conceal anything, either. The drug problem must be serious if they’re trying to catch people like they’re having a seizure.

When they mistook Myungho’s key for a box where he’d hidden some drugs and twisted it hard, asking if he’d put anything in it, I honestly almost laughed. In the end, they couldn’t open it and gave it back.

“The request said to chase away or hunt down the goblins that have settled near the road coming and going, so just do as it says. Well, sometimes people add extra conditions…”

For example, bring back a tongue without any damage. Or kill it without any wounds so it can be cleanly stuffed and brought back. Myungho gave various examples.

Should I understand it as something like a side quest? I had a strange feeling that it was like a game.

…But I’m not the main character. Why did I end up in this world with this fate? I don’t even know who to curse. First of all, the gods are all bastards.

“In this kind of grassland, there wouldn’t be a good place to hide… I think they dug a hole. Where could it be… Ah. Right. Altera. Do you feel anything strange under the ground… or not?”

You said you’d teach me. It was funny to see him naturally asking for help.

When I put my ear to the ground, I could feel something quite large moving from over there, apart from the weak vibrations made by field mice or rabbits.

“Over there. Under that tree root, something about… this big seems to be moving around.”

I stood up and put my hand on my thigh as I said that. I told you to look, didn’t I? You’re looking somewhere else again. I don’t know why you’re doing this.

“…Altera. I think I said this earlier, too. Can’t you just… lie down a bit more normally?”

Myungho was lying completely flat on the ground. He said he bought new clothes, yet he’s doing that. Even if you lie down on the grass, it’ll get dirty.

But apart from that, I had no intention of listening to him.

“…If I do this, what will you do?”

Saying that, I stomped on the back of the guy who was lying down.

“Ah, Altera?! What are you doing! Why are you suddenly stepping on me! I can’t move…”

“You can’t, right? Yeah. That’s why I don’t lie down like that.”

I removed my foot and explained why I don’t lie down like that. If you’re lying down like that and suddenly get stepped on, you’ll be completely subdued.

“…Even so, do you really have to lie down in that position? I’m… a man, you know? Altera. Your butt… it’s prominent, that position.”

Well, I’m a man, too. Even if I’m not now. That doesn’t mean I want to live as a woman. Although I’m forced to realize that I’ve become a non-human female every few months.

“So? Then don’t look. You’re talking nonsense. Ah… right. Then you step on me. It’s okay to step on my head. If you know why I’m in this position, you’ll be less lustful, right?”

This position wasn’t a seductive one or anything like that. It was the best solution I came up with after a long process of trial and error.

Myungho was blushing again, not knowing where to look. It’s pathetic. At this rate, he’d push away a woman even if she begged him to do her.

“Then, I’ll, I’ll step on you. You told me to…!”

Myungho squeezed his eyes shut and slowly lifted his foot towards my head. And right before he actually stepped on me, I quickly swung my tail and stopped it right in front of his neck.

“…Huh?”

He opened his eyes, sensing something was wrong. Then he turned his head and froze.

“…In this position, I can use my tail as a weapon, you see? It’s not seduction or anything. It’s to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”

And it’s hard to lie down on the ground because of these lumps of flesh on my chest. Even if I press them down with a bandage, it’s quite bothersome.

Myungho seemed to understand, touching his neck and slowly backing away.

“Uh… yeah. Right… uh. Still. Now that you have a colleague to watch your back, please be a bit more normal…”

“You can’t change a habit in a day or two. But I’ll keep it in mind.”

I have no intention of changing, though. Because of that mage. I need to know what he’s thinking.

Myungho thanked me for telling him the direction, and told me to watch from there as he headed towards where the vibration was felt.

Then, as if they had been waiting, several green dwarves rushed in with stone knives or crude spears. Four of them.

The quality of the weapons was so poor that I wondered if they could even harm anything with them.

Myungho saw the stone knives and didn’t even try to dodge, just blocked them with his forearm.

Just like how his coat blocked the blades without a scratch, the stone knives had no effect. Myungho was so fascinated by his own defense that he stopped fighting and stared at his arm.

Then a guy with a wooden spear rushed in from behind, but it broke with a crack.

Still, it must have hurt a bit, because he turned around and kicked the goblin right in the neck.

Leaving the pathetically flying goblin clutching its neck and retching, he drew his sword.

Since his coat was blocking all the attacks, he was leisurely dealing with the goblins, even deliberately getting hit.

He looks like an uncle playing with babies. Even if the babies are very ugly and full of malice. As I was leisurely watching the not-so-fight-like fight while sitting on the grass, I felt another strange vibration.

It wasn’t coming from underground. It was approaching from the ground. And it was coming straight for Myungho. Who is it? What is it?

The size… it’s about the same as a human. There are no appendages or anything strange like that. But I couldn’t see anything with my eyes.

However, the vibration was clearly telling me that there was something there.

Feeling that something was unusual, I picked up a stone that was within reach and threw it with all my might towards where the vibration was felt.

But the stone made a sound as if it hit metal and flew off in a strange direction.

“…Myungho! Get out of there right now!”

I charged my horn with a lot of magic, lifted a large chunk of earth, and threw it towards where he was.

He expressed his doubts about the sudden event, but as soon as I lifted the chunk of earth, he quickly grabbed a goblin and ran to the side.

A loud bang echoed. Dust and gravel flew in all directions, breaking the silence of the plain.

And from within that dust, a woman appeared.

Two horns similar to mine, but smaller and straighter. Black sclera and blue eyes. And skin so pale it looked bleached.

She was dressed so scantily that it was as if she wasn’t wearing anything at all, barely covering the important parts.

But what stood out more than those things was the black mask-like object covering her mouth and nose.

“…That’s a demon, isn’t it? And with that mask… that means she’s almost a pureblood… Altera! Anyway, get ready to fight! That wasn’t in the request, but we have to catch her and go!”

There are purebloods and mixed-bloods among demons? That’s something to think about. First, I ran to Myungho’s side and levitated some rock fragments in advance.

“…The invisibility should have been perfect. How did you figure it out, wench? And that power… the green pigs weren’t lying.”

I shattered a large rock into pieces and sent them flying like buckshot at the guy who was muttering something while looking at me. But it was blocked by something like a barrier.

“Who are you! Why are you targeting me! Answer me, demon!”

Still holding the goblin’s neck tightly in one hand, Myungho asked the demon why she was targeting him.

“…You. How do you know our language… No. That’s not important. Seeing as you have that woman, you must be the one who took our key, right?”

“Key… Then are you the one who hired those orcs to raid the village? Then you must be here to take the key back! Come on!”

They glared at each other as if they were about to jump at any moment. But instead of rushing in, the woman said something.

“…Not yet. You’re lucky, boy. I’ll be looking forward to our… next meeting.”

Then she disappeared into thin air as if diving into water. Even when I tried to sense her with vibrations, nothing was caught except for Myungho’s tense heartbeat.

The small animals had already run away. It seemed that she had completely disappeared.

“…She’s gone. What the hell was that?”

Myungho gripped his sword tightly and looked around, then let out a sigh of relief when I said she was gone, and replied that he didn’t know either.

“Probably… a demon looking for this key. To think I’d meet a real demon in this day and age… Thanks, Altera. If it weren’t for you, I might have been taken down in an instant.”

“It’s nothing to thank me for. We’re colleagues. By the way, you weren’t excited by that woman?”

She was dressed so revealingly, with so many decorations hanging here and there. Clothes that seemed to be made to seduce, yet Myungho didn’t even blush once.

“Huh? Ah… it’s the situation.”

Being able to get aroused even in that kind of situation is what I know as a male. Hmm.

Well, whatever. We’re both fine, and we caught all the goblins.

“…Goblins, shouldn’t you stop holding onto it soon?”

“Goblin? Ah.”

It was definitely green, but only its face was a mix of purple and green, so it was an eyesore.

“…Right. Let’s go back for now. I don’t know what else might come out. Anyway, this is how you do requests. There was a… somewhat unexpected situation in the middle, though.”

Yes, yes. Senior. I replied like that and returned to the city.