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

The registration of an adventurer begins with an analysis of various abilities of the person who wishes to register. Magical aptitude, strength, overall combat ability, unique traits, achievements before becoming an adventurer, and so on.

However, this standard was for ordinary races, not for half-dragons. Dragons are considered outside the norm from the start, so how could one measure a half-dragon who killed such an entity?

The mannequin used for strength measurement was shattered, and the crystal ball used to measure magical aptitude exploded from the inside, scattering sand and dirt.

And the comprehensive evaluation, which can be said to be the highlight of the adventurer registration test, was boldly omitted. Due to concerns for human life.

Of course, this was a concern for the instructors who would come to measure, not Altera.

Considering the numerous corpses seen in the mountains yesterday and the destructive power exuded by that monstrous form, even gold-rank instructors would probably not be able to withstand it.

In fact, it seemed unnecessary. The receptionist had already dissuaded the enthusiastic instructors, citing numerous failed subjugation attempts and arguing that combat ability had already been proven in the field.

“…You come across an injured child on the road. You do not have much food, so if you share it with the child, you will have to starve for a few days. What would you do?”

And currently, I was sitting at a table near the entrance with Altera and the inspector. The inspector asked questions, and I translated, conducting her personality test in this manner.

…It was a bit distracting that a huge crowd of people gathered on the second floor and around to watch, but Altera seemed different from me.

“Is the mother or father alive?”

“…She’s asking if the parents are alive?”

“Huh? Uh… well… No. It’s an orphan, looking hungry and disheveled, who has lost its parents.”

I wish I could just hand over the test paper, but they said it was an internal document leak, so I had to use this cumbersome method.

“She says the parents are gone. And it’s hungry.”

“Then sharing food is a waste. Unless it’s a very special case, a cub that has lost its parents cannot survive. Helping it would only feed a wild beast soon.”

“She says helping a child who has lost its parents is pointless because it will die soon anyway, so she won’t help.”

“I, I see. Not helping… Yes. We’re almost done now. Then, right away. You hunted a monster alone. And party members who arrived late ask to share the monster you hunted. What would you do?”

I conveyed the inspector’s question to Altera. I thought the answer was obvious, and it was.

“Why should I share? They didn’t help me catch it, but now that it’s caught, they want to take it?”

“Why should I share? You guys didn’t help… she says.”

Living alone in the wild already suggested it, but there was no trace of morality, social skills, or common sense in her.

To put it nicely, she was an extreme survivalist; to put it badly, she was an egoist. Still, it wasn’t disappointing. The fact that she didn’t antagonize all humans, even if she suspected them, showed that she was quite kind.

Could I just suspect a race that is wary of me or tries to kill me every time, without going further? I don’t think I could.

“…Very well. This concludes the examination. Then… um. Altera… miss? Please wait a moment. We will soon give you a rank plate that suits your abilities.”

“She says it will be ready soon if you wait.”

Since earlier, she had been shifting her posture as if trying to find a comfortable position, and I felt embarrassed to look at her, so I inadvertently shifted my gaze to her tail.

The blade on her tail was a sharp, bluish color, reflecting my face. As I stared at her constantly, slightly swaying tail, Altera moved it out of my sight, as if it bothered her.

“…Don’t look.”

When I openly looked at her body as part of my curiosity, she didn’t react, but it seemed the tail was off-limits.

The horns were the same. The difference was that if I glanced at her horns, she would grab me by the collar. It’s okay to look at her face, but not her horns. Strange.

This caused a brief commotion, but it was a trivial matter. So I kept glancing at her until I felt it was wrong and completely turned my eyes away.

“…Is that necklace, did you make it yourself?”

It wasn’t intentional, but a necklace with a large crystal, half-buried in her cleavage, caught my eye, so I asked.

“My mother gave it to me. I’ve changed the string each time I grew, but I’ve never changed this crystal.”

Ah, I see. The mention of her parents made me hesitant to say more. She must have… killed them, right? Either way. The human side probably isn’t alive, considering how she lives.

“…Um. Was your mother human?”

“Yes. She was a kind person. She’s buried under the ground now.”

Altera closed her eyes as if reminiscing about the past and answered. It made me regret asking.

…It came out quickly when I did it, so why is it taking so long now? It felt awkward, and with all the people around, it felt like sitting on a bed of thorns.

“H-hey, Altera? It might be none of my business, but shouldn’t you… wear something?”

– – – –

I was nervous, thinking it was some big deal, but it turned out to be less than I expected.

The strength tester broke in one hit, and the magic tester broke after a bit of blowing. Was the human level this low?

…Come to think of it, those who tried to catch me must be quite strong for humans. That’s what I thought.

Now that the incomprehensible Q&A is over, all that’s left is to wait, but it’s taking a long time.

“H-hey, Altera? It might be none of my business, but shouldn’t you… wear something?”

Ah, geez. Why is he so talkative?

Myungho kept chattering next to me, being a nuisance. He stared at me, and he kept looking at my horns and tail in a creepy way.

“It’s none of your business.”

Whatever my current appearance, I’m a man. I lay eggs every few months, and monsters and humans have tried to mate with me several times, but I’m a man.

I’m a man. I’m not a fragile girl who trembles at the darkness of the night, the cries of beasts, or the malice of humans.

I’m used to gazes full of greed and lust. And human lust is laughable compared to a monster in heat.

Wearing clothes would only create more openings to be caught, and not wearing them doesn’t cause me to freeze to death, so there was no need. Besides, it interferes with sensing vibrations, so there was no reason to wear them.

The cape is just for show, and it’s connected with weak magnets so I can take it off anytime. The fur is to cover the vitals, so it’s an exception.

“Really…? If you say so… Well. Still, I think it would be better to wear something. Y’know… if you expose yourself too much, strange things might be attracted… right?”

Strange things.

I wonder if they could still look at me like that when their heads are rolling on the ground.

“So, it’s none of your business, I said.”

I had no intention of dressing up like a girl. Especially not to look good for others. I was fine as I was.

Creating a family would only cause tragedy.

Myungho seemed to have given up on interfering, and his ceaselessly moving mouth finally became quiet.

The surroundings were noisy with murmurs, but I couldn’t understand what they were saying anyway, so I closed my eyes and waited for mine to arrive.

Just as I was enjoying the soft cushion and starting to feel a bit drowsy, my adventurer’s tag came out. The receptionist explained something long, but according to Myungho, it was simple.

“It’s the highest rank a person can get without any achievements or feats. Gold rank 1. So where do you want to wear the tag? Arm? Or leg? They said they could make it into a band.”

I thought they would attach a lot of penalties or something, but it was a surprisingly fair evaluation. More importantly, where to wear it. I hadn’t thought about it at all.

“…Right arm. But I’ll wear bands on all four limbs, so tell them to give me all of them.”

I didn’t have any ill feelings toward the guild. However, I wanted to take everything I could get for free. You never know. I might be able to hang something on the bands and use it usefully.

“She says her right arm… But since she’ll wear bands on all four limbs, please give her one for each. Huh? Measurements? Ah, right. We can’t just make them roughly… Altera. These people need to know your arm and thigh circumference to make your bands, so can you lend me your arm for a moment?”

Measurements. It was a word I hadn’t heard in a very long time.

…Come to think of it, how does this guy’s language work so that I can understand it even though it’s a language I’m hearing for the first time? It’s not being translated into Korean, yet I can understand it, which is quite strange.

“…No. I don’t trust those guys. If it must be measured, you do it.”

Regardless of my thoughts, I told Myungho, the most trustworthy human, to take the measurements.

“M-me? Ah… Yes. She says she doesn’t trust you, so I should do it… myself. Are you serious…?”

Myungho received the measuring tape and stared blankly at me and the tape alternately. I was tired of waiting, so I urged Myungho.

“Here, my arm. Quickly.”

“Well, uh… can I really touch…?”

Seeing a man unable to properly touch a woman’s body and fumbling was pathetic, so I took his hand and placed it on my arm myself.

Only then did he slowly, like a snail, measure the circumference of my arm, making me think he was hopeless as a man.

“Now, the leg. What are you hesitating for?”

Even when I stepped on the chair’s cushion and positioned myself for easy measurement, he trembled and measured so slowly that I became frustrated and ticklish, so I snapped.

“…It’s ticklish, hurry up!”

“Ah, alright.”

It was fine when I touched it, but when someone else touched it, it was more ticklish than I thought, and I ended up being more irritable than I intended.

As soon as I heard it was over, I roughly sat back on the chair to shake off the feeling of the touch.

Myungho still seemed to be wondering if this was reality or a dream, but he diligently conveyed the measurements, and soon I received my bands and the gold tag.

“…Uh, congratulations. Now you’re an adventurer.”

I put on the leather bands on my arms and legs and looked at the gold tag attached to the band on my right arm. Is this… my name written in their language?

I was going to ask Myungho which one was my name, but he still had a dazed look on his face.

Mother. Have I made a hasty decision?

It was inevitable to have doubts.