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

I woke up with a throbbing head to find that it was already the middle of the night, and everyone was asleep. No, scratch that. Altera was awake, looking around and keeping watch.

“You’re up? Do you know who I am? Or do you not remember your name, or forget something recent, or feel like throwing up…?”

Altera approached me as soon as she saw me and crouched down, worried that I might have seriously injured my head. Fortunately for her, my head was perfectly fine.

“Yeah, don’t worry, Altera. Just a bump… Ow. It’s a bit swollen. Sorry. I worried you for nothing.”

I should have listened when I was told not to. I stroked the bump and apologized to her as I stretched. It was half an accident, but it was still my fault.

“…Hmph, at least you know you did wrong. That’s fine. That woman already gave you a punishment. I don’t plan on punishing someone who’s already been punished. Thanks to what you did… I learned something important.”

Something important. What could it be? I had learned a lot of things, but I couldn’t think of anything she would know.

More importantly.

“Altera. Come to think of it, you were talking to that… Sword Witch… or whatever you call her. Could you understand her?”

“Somehow…? I was surprised too… but that’s not important. It’s not like we’ll be seeing her often.”

Well, is that so? I figured it would be best not to get too involved with a real witch.

Come to think of it, the Sword Witch said she was friends with Altera’s mother. And she said something about being among witches. So… her mother must be a witch.

The village chief in that mountain village was right. She was the child of a witch.

He must have seen her with her witch mother before, rather than being surprised by her appearance.

“It has to be. Honestly, I felt like my lifespan was being drastically reduced. Ugh, if those blades had rained down…”

“I’ll protect you. I can’t promise you won’t get a single scratch, but we’re friends, right?”

Altera grinned and held out her fist. Oh, so. Wait a minute. This seems like she wants me to bump fists. Friends?

“…We’re friends?”

“We share important secrets with each other. We hang out, laugh, and talk. We share meals… aren’t we friends? I thought we were friends. Oh, come to think of it, I haven’t heard your secret. Do you have one? Even something trivial. I told you something really important, so I should hear something in return.”

The way she naturally led the conversation made me think that if Altera had grown up normally, she would have been an untouchable popular person.

Yeah, a secret… I don’t have anything to hide. I’ve shown all my abilities… Ah. Right. I haven’t told her about this.

“…I have one. It’s not something that would cause a big problem if someone found out like yours. It’s a secret I haven’t told anyone since I came to this world.”

“This… world, do you mean you came from another world?”

I got chills for a moment when she guessed correctly. How did she know?

“…Yeah. I told you I was a hero. The… summoning method was a bit nasty.”

I briefly told her the story of how I was drying my hair in my room and about to play a game when I fell, and when I woke up, a goddess was in front of me with a tired face, throwing something at me, and when I regained consciousness, I was on a summoning circle.

But Altera seemed more interested in the story of another world than my story.

“What did you say the name of the country you originally lived in was?”

“Huh? The Republic of Korea. Other than being safe to walk around drunk late at night, it’s not a very interesting country. The land is small, people have lost their dreams… Ah. But I miss smartphones.”

“Smart… phone? What’s that?”

I got excited when a familiar topic came up and only talked about myself, so I guess I was a bit inconsiderate.

“Hmm… it’s complicated to put it into one word. It’s… a device? with a lot of functions crammed into it. It allows people far away to talk to each other while seeing each other’s faces anytime, anywhere… and it allows you to see moving pictures with sound…”

“Sorry, I don’t get it.”

Altera said that was enough, as if her head was overloaded. It is hard to explain with words.

Altera stared blankly into the air, as if imagining a scene where people could talk to each other while seeing each other’s faces from afar, which was shocking to her.

“Anyway. That’s the story. I came from another world. It’s a bit insignificant compared to your secret.”

“N-No! It’s, it’s definitely a trivial story… but it’s still a friend’s secret. It’s not insignificant.”

Friend. It was still a word that made me feel strange whenever I heard it. I had some close friends, but they weren’t ‘friends’ with whom I could really share secrets.

“I’m glad it was valuable to you. Um… friends… then we’re friends, right? Then can I ask you one thing? You said you learned something important earlier. What was it?”

“Ah… that. I, actually, just found out my mother’s name for the first time. We’ve been together for 13 years, but she never told me her name. Isn’t it strange? A child who doesn’t know her mother’s name.”

Ah. So she just found out her mother’s name.

“It’s not that strange. I didn’t know my parents’ names until I was 15 either. And I found out by seeing it written on paper. So… um. I don’t know what to say, but don’t blame yourself too much.”

“…Thanks. Well, my mother wouldn’t get mad about something like that. You’re talking fine, so it seems like you really just have a bump on your head! Then go back to sleep. Humans stumble when it’s important if they don’t get enough sleep.”

Altera dusted off her cloak, stood up, and went back to keeping watch.

…I didn’t ask her real name because it seemed like something that would be a big problem if others found out.

I don’t want to use a friend’s trust like that.

Friends, friends. I lay back down on the mat, smiling like a fool.

– – – –

I was half sure that Myungho came from the same place as me. But listening to his story, it wasn’t the Korea I knew.

Above all, the existence of a smartphone. I had never heard of such a thing when I was alive.

Something that allows you to see each other’s faces and talk in real time? Anytime, anywhere? It’s like a dream machine from the distant future.

Could it be… that he was dragged here from a future era, not the same era as me? It’s definitely a trivial story now, as he said…

What will the future be like? I couldn’t imagine it. Flying cars… machines that replace human labor… will there be such things?

Based on what Myungho said, I tried to imagine the future society in my head, but it didn’t come out right.

My imagination is poor. And Myungho is just an individual, so he can’t tell me everything about society. But it was enough to pass the boring watch.

The reason I could spend time daydreaming was that there were no threatening monsters in the vicinity.

At most, they came up to my calves. There were no animals large enough to harm or eat humans, so I could enjoy pleasant imaginations until morning.

Yuna, who frowned as soon as the sunlight hit her face, and Akash, who woke up half a beat later, looked at Myungho with concern.

No, only Yuna looked. Akash was shaking his head or yawning widely, showing no interest in Myungho.

“Could it be… he’s still not awake…?”

After being able to communicate yesterday, I could feel how frustrating it was not to know the language.

Even now, Myungho said I was just at the level of a child, even though I had learned a lot.

Have I learned a lot in about a month since we met? I don’t know.

Myungho woke up a little later than the others, reassuring Yuna.

“Oh, you’re up. It would have been fun if you were lying there like a vegetable. Well, it can’t be helped.”

“I don’t know how many times I have to tell you… Please, tell me in advance when you’re going to do something, and don’t do what I tell you not to do. Do you know how worried I was?”

“Ahaha… Sorry, Yuna. I really am reflecting on that. But I’m fine. Ah, wait, wait. Don’t press on the bump, it hurts!”

“I’m pressing it because it hurts. So you won’t do it again…!”

Yuna, who was scolding Myungho while pressing on the bump, finally let go when he let out a sharp scream.

“I’m a patient, even if it’s a minor injury! Shouldn’t you be taking care of me more carefully?!”

“You deal with a troublemaker kid with your fists. Be glad that’s all. Here, catch.”

Akash, who seemed to be scolding him, threw jerky at Myungho. He barely caught it before almost dropping it and stuffed it into his mouth, perhaps because he was hungry.

“Ea…rth Dragon… um. There are things you should and shouldn’t do. Here.”

He came up to me politely and offered it. I ate the jerky, which was much tastier than the similar food I had yesterday.

After drinking some water and waiting for everyone to get ready, I took the lead once the cleanup was done.

“Alright, let’s not waste any more time and head straight to our destination. Follow me!”

“Altera. Sorry to throw cold water on you, but it’s not that way, it’s this way.”

Ah.