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

I could understand it. Even without Myungho translating beside me, I could clearly hear the words. It was different from what my mother had taught me, so how?

“I’m asking you a question. Was I being too gentle? Then, I suppose I should be a little less gentle. You, child of the dragon blood, did you ruin my work?”

She asked so casually that I paused to comprehend. The woman gestured in the air and lined up several swords in front of me before asking again.

“Excuse me for a moment. I don’t know who you are, but are you the one who buried the bodies in this swamp? If so, those bodies…”

“I wasn’t asking you. And my question hasn’t been answered yet. Keep the order. Your question will be answered after this child answers mine.”

Myungho tried to figure out who she was by questioning her, but the mysterious woman quickly brought a sword to Myungho’s neck, silencing him.

Only after seeing that did I understand what situation we were in. We were facing something absurd without a mage or an archer.

It was fast without any warning signs. Moreover, the ground was damp, so it took a long time for my intentions to be understood. In other words, I couldn’t block the attack with my abilities.

…I could protect myself, but I didn’t know if I could protect Myungho. I didn’t know what would happen if I let my blood take over, but I didn’t think Myungho could handle me if I lost it or the woman who took me down.

“Answer. I’m waiting. Or is this not even dangerous?”

She hadn’t even moved all the swords yet. At most, around eight. I didn’t know how powerful they were since I hadn’t been hit.

Ah, damn it. This is frustrating. I knew I had to answer her question first. I was angry that I couldn’t do anything, but I had someone to protect.

“…I broke it. Why? Are you upset that your favorite doll is broken?”

Still, I didn’t want to just take it, so I provoked her to get her attention on me.

It must have worked. The woman’s face didn’t change, but all the swords, including the one aimed at Myungho, turned to me.

“Why did you break it?”

Her voice became a little colder, so it must have worked. I channeled magic into my horns and prepared the earth in advance so I could intercept the blades at any time.

“They weren’t properly dead, so I just killed them properly. Isn’t it the fault of the one who didn’t kill them properly in the first place?”

When I said that, the woman seemed annoyed, and the swords flew at me. As soon as I noticed, I created a wall of rock to block them, and I grabbed the one I couldn’t block with my hand to stop it.

It was made of good material. The refinement was perfect too. But the power was decisively lacking. My palm was slightly cut, but this wasn’t even a scratch.

“If you’re going to hit, hit properly. Even a baby would scoff at this.”

“You’re very rude. I’ve never made sealing wax from dragon blood before. I wonder what it would be like. Shall we find out?”

“Try it if you’re confident.”

I floated a few rock spears and took a stance with a greatsword. At first, I was a little nervous, but if that was all, maybe it was doable.

Just before anyone could make a move, Myungho intervened and mediated.

“…Wait a minute! Didn’t you say you would listen to my question after hearing Altera’s answer?”

I had just gotten all the aggro on me, and he stepped up to take it again. What was he doing? I was annoyed, but it seemed to work, and the woman looked at Myungho and answered.

“Ah, that’s right. So, what did you want to ask? I’ll listen. You waited politely, so I should do that much.”

“First… are you the one burying the bodies in this swamp? If so, are those bodies… legal? I want to ask. And please withdraw the swords aimed at Altera. If you think about it, the reason those bodies were ruined is because of me.”

This idiot. How was he going to deal with that…!

“Yes. Not all of them, but at least I’m the one who stabbed the swords. And if you ask if it’s legal… yes. At least I haven’t killed and buried any living people or taken them from other people’s graves.”

“Is that so… Then that’s a relief. I was worried for nothing…”

Myungho was relieved, but soon he swallowed his breath again at the sight of the blades slowly turning towards him.

“Then, now tell me what you meant. That it’s your fault that my work was ruined. I want to hear the details.”

I tried to get closer to get Myungho out of there, but several swords flew in an instant, without giving me a chance to react, and shattered the rock spears I had floated in advance.

“…Out of foolish curiosity, I approached the puddle because I was curious about the identity of the work you were making. Then, something came out of my sword and took hold of your work, and it came back to life. So Altera had no choice but to destroy it. Please forgive her.”

“A sword? What are you talking about? How can you have a sword… Ah, are you talking about that sword-shaped thing?”

“Sword-shaped thing…? Are you saying it’s not a sword?”

“It’s not an object made as a sword. An object that contains a soul can’t be a sword. Someone must have twisted its appearance. But did you just say Altera? That hair… dragon blood… the name Altera… and that necklace. It really is her. Ah, she really did mate with a dragon.”

“…You, did you know my mother?”

As I listened to Myungho’s desperate explanation, for some reason, the woman spoke as if she knew my mother.

The woman withdrew all the swords that had been stuck in the rock and threatening me, and looked at me with a different, relaxed expression than before.

“Of course, I know her very well. We were close enough to exchange blades. She was one of the few people I could talk to among the eccentric witches. You used the name Altera for the boy here. Come here for a moment. I want to see that necklace.”

A witch? My mother was a witch? I was confused. I mean, she did research magic and all… but she didn’t have any of the things that witches would use.

“…Don’t make me call your real name.”

“How do you know that…!”

“We’re friends. We’re close enough to tell each other the names of our future children. I didn’t tell her because I didn’t plan on having any.”

I couldn’t tell Myungho my real name, so I gritted my teeth but walked over to the woman and carefully took off my necklace and handed it to her.

The woman slowly brought her finger to the necklace and infused it with a blue energy.

“…Indeed, it’s a dream worthy of Altina. Haha, she’s still the same. She left it so it would continue even at the end.”

The way she stroked it and talked to herself creeped me out, and I thought that was what a witch looked like. I couldn’t believe my mother was friends with someone like that.

“Thank you for showing me something nice. You may go now. I will forgive your rudeness. You must have had a hard time at a young age. And there, you must pay the price for your foolish curiosity.”

As I was off guard, returning the necklace, a sword suddenly flew like lightning and struck Myungho’s forehead with its hilt.

“Myungho!”

“Normally, I would have to turn you into another piece of work… but I’ll let this slide since you let me know something fun. Don’t touch my work again. And if the sign says not to do something, don’t do it.”

Staggering, Myungho stood up and apologized, saying he would never do what he was told not to do again.

“Yes, don’t do what you’re told not to do. I don’t know what you’re looking for in this dark giant’s grave, but I hope you find what you’re looking for.”

After saying her piece, the woman stabbed her sword back into the puddle and disappeared into the forest.

“My head is ringing… Ugh, Altera. Are you okay?”

“That’s what I should be saying! Are you okay?! Is your head cracked or something?!”

It wouldn’t be strange if it were cracked or broken since he was hit by a sword with an iron hilt. I was worried about what to do if that happened, but Myungho felt his forehead and said he seemed to be okay.

“…My head is fine, but I’ll have a bump. Altera, let’s go back. They’ll be worried… Oof.”

He took a step and staggered again, so I supported him. He didn’t look okay at all. When I asked, he answered honestly.

“I can’t get up, and my ears are ringing. I’ll be fine if I just rest for a bit…”

I lent him my shoulder, and he immediately leaned on me, which worried me. I wondered if he had hurt his brain.

No matter how skilled you are, it was impossible to carry 2.5 people’s worth of weight without sinking. My feet kept sinking, and the bandages wrapped around my legs got wet, which felt bad.

If I knew this would happen, I should have just eaten quietly. Even as I thought that, I got chills when I remembered that they were looking for us.

There definitely wasn’t any strange flow of magic.

As I continued, trying to remember where we had come from, Myungho couldn’t hold on any longer and collapsed, losing consciousness.

“Hey, are you okay?! Hey!”

But soon, that didn’t matter. Myungho’s arm fell and touched my chest.

Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, I tried to wake Myungho, but he showed no signs of waking up, as if his mind had already flown far away.

“Hey, hey! Wake up! Where are you touching right now?!”

Ah, seriously. Nothing changed even though I kept trying to wake him, so I just gave up and trudged on.

It didn’t feel right to force a sick person to wake up… and what could I do?

When I returned to where Akash and Yuna were, they rushed over as soon as they saw me and asked something.

It seemed like only Yuna was in a hurry.

“Myungho?! Altera, what happened… Ah, right. You can’t understand me…!”

“Let’s lay the injured down first. We can hear what happened later.”