Chapter 47

[47] Oppa, Did You Wait Long?

‘What… is this?’

I couldn’t take my eyes off the incredible sight unfolding in the sky.

I’d known for a while that comparing Sia to an ordinary Hunter was an insult to her strength.

But seeing something for yourself really was different from just hearing about it.

I knew she was strong, but I’d never actually seen her fight with all her might.

Until now, I’d only imagined what it would be like if Sia really got serious.

Now that imagined scene was unfolding right before my eyes.

Meteor.

Even an S-rank mage would struggle to cast it. Among mages, Meteor was considered an extremely difficult spell to use.

Yet there were five enormous meteors in the sky—at least, that was how many I could see.

Just creating and sustaining that many meteors must have consumed an incredible amount of mana. But Sia didn’t look the least bit tired. She controlled them with ease, as if she were playing with marbles.

No matter how strong the wyverns were, it couldn’t be easy to withstand those meteors.

A single gesture from Sia seemed to inflict grievous wounds. The wyverns staggered in the air, or dropped straight out of the sky. It was chaos up there.

And besides—

Wait.

‘If they fall like that…’

The wyverns would be killed in no time. But if their bodies fell into this densely populated area, it could still lead to enormous casualties.

I was wondering whether I should go out and try to prevent anyone from getting hurt when the body of a wyvern that had been falling between buildings suddenly rose into the air. One by one, the bodies neatly piled up on the rooftops.

Even amid all the chaos, Sia never lost focus. She kept controlling the meteors and striking the wyverns that were still alive.

At first, I hadn’t noticed, but as I watched the battle unfold, I realized what she’d done.

Sia had used Dragon Fear from the very beginning to completely immobilize the wyverns.

Despite being dangerous monsters that had taken the lives of many Hunters, the wyverns couldn’t even mount a proper attack—or find the courage to flee. They were frozen in place.

There were only two kinds of wyverns up there:

Those already dead, plummeting to the ground, and those still alive but unable to move.

Meanwhile, the house-sized meteors Sia had summoned flew through the air like acrobats. Brilliant flashes erupted dozens of times a second as she unleashed one mysterious spell after another.

How long did it go on?

The dozens of wyverns that had nearly turned this whole area into a wasteland were subdued in an instant, before they’d even had a chance to put up a fight.

It took just five minutes.

All because they’d interrupted Sia’s date.

“What… was that?”

I’d told everyone to take shelter in the corner, but I could hear a man’s voice right beside me.

I turned and saw a man staring out the window, muttering with a dazed expression.

He must have crept over to the window after the battle started and watched the whole thing.

‘Honestly, I told you to keep your head down.’

There was always someone who refused to listen.

Thank goodness Sia had taken care of everything. Otherwise, we might’ve had a real problem.

Instead of scolding him for doing something dangerous, I told everyone in the restaurant that it was over.

“I think you’re safe now. The situation has been resolved, and the Gate seems to have closed.”

There were always one or two people like that. Besides, it was all over now. There was no point in making a scene.

“Maybe it wasn’t that dangerous a Gate Break after all.”

Not long after the situation ended, a woman sitting behind me said that to her friend.

Just then, the man who’d been secretly watching from the window beside me butted into their conversation.

“Definitely not! I saw it. That wasn’t an ordinary Gate Break. I think wyverns came out…”

I didn’t know why he had to butt into a conversation between strangers and make such a fuss. But when he mentioned wyverns, the women were startled and began listening closely.

Then the others started paying attention, too. They were clearly surprised to hear that the Gate had been anything but ordinary.

“Wyverns?”

“If they were wyverns, we could really have died…”

“But… if wyverns really showed up, how could the Gate have been cleared so quickly?”

“Hunter, did wyverns really come out? And is it actually safe now?”

I’d been hoping to wait quietly for Sia, but because of that man, everyone’s attention had turned to me.

Some people didn’t believe me. Others suspected that the danger hadn’t passed yet.

I did my best to calm them.

“Yes. I know it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.”

“That’s impossible…”

They must have thought it was impossible for so many wyverns to be eliminated so quickly without any serious damage. People gathered in small groups, whispering in disbelief.

But I just waited quietly for Sia.

Before long, she came back.

She looked so relaxed, you’d never believe she’d just fought dozens of wyverns.

Anyone would’ve thought she’d only popped out to use the bathroom, not gone to stop a Gate Break.

“Oppa, sorry. Did you wait long?”

“No, but, um…”

I trailed off a little, aware that people were listening. Sia quietly cast a Silence spell around us and answered,

“We couldn’t let that ruin our date, could we? So I took care of it quickly.”

She’d just described a Gate Break with an estimated S-rank danger level—a threat dangerous enough to keep the whole country talking for days—as “that.”

It was another reminder of how extraordinary dragons were.

“Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Nope! I didn’t even get a scratch, so don’t worry.”

Saying there was no chance she’d get hurt over something so trivial, Sia started eating her tteokbokki again as if nothing had happened.

But…

I wanted to go back to chatting sweetly with Sia as if nothing had happened, too…

But I couldn’t get the image of her slicing through the wyverns as casually as if she were chopping radishes out of my mind.

The adorable Sia sitting in front of me and the woman who’d taken down the wyverns as easily as catching lizards were the same person.

I was still stunned.

“Oppa, what’s wrong? Have you lost your appetite?”

I’d stopped eating my tteokbokki and was staring blankly into space, so Sia asked me with concern.

“No. I was just thinking that the whole world’s going to be noisy for a while, thanks to you. There’s no chance anyone will figure out who you are, right?”

If her identity were exposed, it would cause all kinds of trouble.

Sia smiled.

“Don’t worry! I changed my appearance on the way there and erased all the mana traces I left behind. No one will figure out I did it.”

“Another dragon might notice, though,” she added quietly.

After that, Sia told me about the fight with the wyverns.

Just as I’d guessed, she’d first immobilized them with Dragon Fear, then used Meteors to finish things off quickly and cleanly.

She also said she’d temporarily stored the bodies of all the wyverns she’d killed in her lair.

She’d either sell them later or have them processed into new equipment.

“Anyway! I’ve been talking about myself this whole time. I wanted to hear about you, too.”

“Then how about we continue at the café?”

The atmosphere in the restaurant was still unsettled after the Gate Break. It didn’t seem like the best place to stay.

“Sounds good! But first, Oppa, I’m going to get a few portions of tteokbokki to go.”

My Sia really did love this place’s tteokbokki.

We’d have to come back sometime.

After we finished eating, we spent a lovely time together at a café with a nice atmosphere.

Then we left the café and headed straight to my apartment.

We only had one hour left together, so there wasn’t much point in going somewhere else.

“Next time, should we spend all four hours at your apartment and have chicken and beer?”

“That sounds good. It’ll have that nostalgic feel, too.”

We bought some snacks and drinks at the convenience store near my apartment, then headed back to my place.

“Mmm, it smells nice. Oppa, do you use a diffuser?”

“No. Maybe it’s the fabric softener? I can’t smell anything, though.”

Maybe her sense of smell was sharper than an ordinary human’s because she was a dragon.

“Oh, then it must be your scent. How can even your scent be so handsome?”

“...Ugh. Sia, that’s embarrassing.”

Her original way of putting it made me cringe with embarrassment, and I lowered my head. Sia lightly patted me on the back, saying, “But it’s true.”

My apartment was small and didn’t have much to look at, but Sia eagerly inspected everything.

“You’ve got the clothes I gave you hanging up nicely.”

After checking the balcony and seeing that the clothes she’d given me were neatly hung up, Sia smiled with satisfaction.

I still didn’t know exactly why she’d given me those clothes, but I’d kept them in good condition in case she came over, like she had today.

“It’s nice to have at least one set of women’s clothes and shoes in a guy’s apartment, right?”

Sometimes, listening to Sia talk made me feel like I’d ended up in a world where gender roles were reversed.

Anyway.

After looking around my small apartment, Sia sat on the floor and opened the snacks we’d bought at the convenience store.

“We used to eat like this all the time, remember?”

“Even when things were hard, having a beer with you here was what I looked forward to. I don’t think I realized back then just how precious those little moments of happiness were.”

We reminisced about the past and chatted together.

As we snacked, Sia suddenly said,

“Oh, right. I have something to give you.”

She took something out of her storage space and set it down in front of me.

A simple ring and necklace in a sleek, silvery-white finish.

Come to think of it, Sia had been wearing a ring and necklace I’d never seen before today.

When I’d complimented her new jewelry, she’d given me a strange smile. Was this why?

“Are these matching accessories?”

“Yep! I made them myself so we could wear them together. What do you think? Aren’t they pretty?”

“Whoever made them has a great sense of style.”

I’d wondered if jewelry in that color might look a little odd on a man, but the delicate craftsmanship and simple design made me think I could wear it just fine.

“Hehe, I’m glad. I put a lot of thought into making them so we could wear them together. Want me to put the necklace on you?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

As soon as I agreed, Sia hummed a little tune as she fastened the necklace around my neck. Then she personally slipped the ring onto my finger.

“Mm, you really do look good in anything.”

Apparently pleased, Sia took a picture of me wearing the ring and necklace.

“Oh, and Oppa, there’s a secret about this necklace and ring. Want to guess what it is?”

“A secret?”

Sia leaned toward me and sparkled with anticipation, as if she couldn’t wait for me to guess.

“Hmm, I wonder what secret they’re hiding.”

What kind of secret could there be in such tiny pieces of jewelry?

I thought about it for a moment, then realized there was one possibility.

The moment the thought crossed my mind, a chill ran down my whole body.

“...No way, right?”

I tried to deny it to myself, but I knew.

My gut feeling was probably right.

Still hoping I was wrong, I asked Sia carefully,

“Are these… all made from your bones?”

Sia’s eyes curved into crescent moons.

“Yep! How did you guess?”

...Why were my ominous premonitions never wrong?