Chapter 67
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Chapter 67
Right, I was wondering the same thing. Why does it treat me like its master?
"I was there when it hatched, so maybe that's why?"
"That could be it. But apparently, it was following you even before it hatched."
At Kaiden's words, I nodded while walking alongside the Silver Earthworm.
I'd thought we first discovered it near the Cabin, but it's possible it had been following me long before that. It might have been too small for me to notice back then.
"Then maybe that's it? You killed all the Anacondas."
Kaiden continued speaking while scanning our surroundings with a tense expression, wary of any potential Monster attacks.
"Maybe it imprinted on you back then."
Imprinting? What am I, some kind of werewolf?
"When I was studying Monster lore, I learned that occasionally, Monsters who've lost their mother will seek out a soul with strong magical power and imprint on them. In those cases, they're said to follow that individual like a master."
"That's really unusual."
"It is—it's an extremely rare occurrence."
I watched the back of the Silver Earthworm's head as it deliberately crawled slowly to match our pace.
Sensing my gaze, it flinched and glanced at me sideways. The creature couldn't even look me directly in the eye.
'Seriously, setting everything else aside, isn't this Anaconda way too timid?'
Fortunately, we didn't encounter any other Monsters along the way, and we arrived at the Cliff before sunset.
The place the Silver Earthworm led us to was precisely the Cliff where Kaiden and I had separated. The massive, decomposing corpse of the Tarantula was proof of it.
The acrid stench that assaulted my nostrils was overwhelming, so I held my breath for a moment.
Now that I thought about it, the Silver Earthworm had been here before it hatched, but it was definitely present at this location. So it knew the coordinates?
'Did it realize we were searching for this Cliff and help us? How?'
Could it understand human speech even if it couldn't speak? If it truly was a Monster and an advanced lifeform, it might be possible.
In any case, the creature was trying to be helpful to us, and it had actually proven quite useful.
"We found it."
At my murmur, Kaiden looked down at the Silver Earthworm with an impressed expression.
"Wow, this little worm is smarter than I thought."
At his words, the Silver Earthworm bounced indignantly. It clearly didn't appreciate being called a "worm."
Sorry, little one. I've been calling you the Silver Earthworm too.
I carefully examined the area around the Cliff, hoping my bag might have fallen here, but it was nowhere to be seen.
"What are you looking for?"
"My bag."
Kaiden finally understood what I was searching for and began scanning the surroundings with me. That's when it happened.
Hissss.
A chilling sound reached my ears, and when I looked down, I found the Silver Earthworm circling beneath my feet.
The creature, which had been crawling along the ground, poked its head up slightly and flicked its tongue at me.
Then it crawled forward a little, looked back at me, crawled forward again, and looked back at me once more.
"It seems to be telling us to follow?"
At Kaiden's question, I bit my lower lip and hesitated for a moment.
I should follow it, right? It was the one who brought us to this Cliff. It should be trustworthy?
After deliberating intensely, I finally pushed through the undergrowth and followed the creature.
As I ventured deeper past the corpse of the massive Tarantula, a medium-sized spider carcass came into view. And the Silver Earthworm circled in front of it.
"Ugh... I really hate spiders."
I shuddered and grabbed Kaiden's collar. Beneath the spider, which lay upside down in death, something glinted.
Kaiden showed no sign of disgust toward the insects. He casually knelt on one knee in front of the spider.
The Silver Earthworm then bounced excitedly, welcoming Kaiden as if urging him to examine this spot.
It was a peculiar sight—a palm-sized, worm-like serpent hopping up and down on the ground.
Kaiden tried to lift the spider's leg, but its weight made it difficult.
"Margaret, it looks like one of your magical tools is buried underneath here."
At Kaiden's words, I reluctantly approached his side and placed my hand on the fuzzy spider leg.
Ugh. The texture is unbearable. Ugh...
Following Kaiden's lead, I lifted the spider's leg, and the moment it cleared the ground, the Silver Earthworm dove underneath as if it had been waiting.
"Huh?"
I looked down in surprise, and there it was, pushing a flare with its head.
If it could speak, it would surely be chanting something like "heave-ho, heave-ho."
Kaiden, equally fascinated by the sight, watched the Silver Earthworm's antics with an expression of bewilderment.
It completely extracted the flare and looked up at me with what seemed like a satisfied expression.
Well, snakes have no real expressions, so I couldn't say if it was truly satisfied. But the way it flicked its tongue while looking at me reminded me of a puppy seeking praise.
It's absurd that this creature is just an ordinary snake. If Kaiden's right and it's truly a Monster that has imprinted me as its master, then everything makes sense.
It seems likely that this is indeed the offspring of that Anaconda that was trying to hatch its eggs back then.
"Good job. Thank you."
Pleased by my praise, the creature spun in circles with joy.
'It's starting to look kind of cute now.'
A fully grown Anaconda is terrifyingly frightening, but this one was just a tiny, worm-like baby serpent.
Moreover, I couldn't simply hate this adorable little creature that followed me around so eagerly, its eyes shining with affection.
I gazed at the Silver Earthworm, let out a soft chuckle, and picked up the flare.
The flare was intact. The ammunition was still inside. I never did find my bag, but I was truly grateful to have recovered the flare at least.
"Margaret?"
Kaiden called out as he turned to leave. I had no choice but to abandon my thoughts and follow him back toward the Cliff.
The sky was unusually clear today, and the sunlight was warm. Thanks to the excellent visibility, the beautiful Island gleamed with particularly radiant colors before my eyes.
The emerald River flowing beneath the Cliff sparkled brilliantly, and the lush vegetation surrounding the Cliff swayed peacefully.
"This Island is quite beautiful."
Kaiden spoke as he watched me gaze quietly beyond the Cliff. I glanced at him and nodded.
"It really is. Beautiful."
Who would have thought such a beautiful Island could be teeming with such dreadful Monsters?
I stared at the Island blankly for a while before turning away.
"Let's head back. Everyone must be worried."
Kaiden nodded at my words. Just then, the Silver Earthworm cautiously followed behind us as we made our way toward the Cabin.
When I turned around and looked at it, the creature startled and froze in place. Then it carefully rolled its eyes, gauging my reaction.
Each time we resumed walking, it would quietly follow, but the moment we stopped and turned around, it would flinch and halt, watching for my approval.
I couldn't understand why it was putting on such a pitiful act. Was this some kind of sympathy-inducing tactic?
Anyway, if that was the strategy, it seems to have worked to some degree. The creature was starting to look pitiful.
'It doesn't even look like a single bite's worth of food...'
If it were alone, it wouldn't last even a day before some other monster devoured it.
I found myself unable to avoid making a decision. After staring at the Silver Earthworm with a conflicted expression, I asked it a question.
"Do you want to come with us?"
At my words, the creature bounced excitedly, then approached at remarkable speed and circled around my feet in loops.
"Man, this snake really acts like a dog."
At Kaiden's muttering, I shot him a weary look.
"It's not technically a curse, but it sounds awfully like one."
He shrugged.
In the end, we decided to bring the Silver Earthworm back to the Cabin with us.
Since we were taking it along anyway, I wanted to get closer to it, so I was carefully poking its silvery scales when Kaiden spoke to me.
"If you're going to take it with you, why not give it a name?"
The Silver Earthworm, which had been lying quietly and accepting my playfulness, lifted its head.
Its yellow eyes seemed to gleam somehow.
"Eun-ji."
The creature suddenly raised itself up.
"It's short for Silver Earthworm."
Somehow it had turned into a Korean-style name, but I couldn't think of any other suitable name.
What could I do about my limited naming sense?
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