Chapter 15 - As If He Were a Ruler

When I woke up, I was alone at the villa. All that remained of Sia was the pillow she'd rested her head on. Lying there by myself, I felt as though everything that had happened yesterday had been a dream.

Now I had to wait a full week to see Sia again. Yesterday, I'd briefly thought a week wasn't so bad, that I could get through it by talking to her on the phone. But now that I actually had to wait, I couldn't think that way at all. We could keep in touch, sure, but how could that compare to seeing her in person?

After a quick wash, I went out to the living room. It had been a little messy last night, but now it was spotless. On the dining table sat a sandwich, a carton of milk, and a letter. I picked up the letter first.

["Hi, Oppa. I'm writing this from Grandpa's lair. I wanted to write it beside you while you slept, but who knows what might happen to you if I did? It's such a ridiculous situation, isn't it?"]

I smiled bitterly.

["I kept thinking how nice it would have been to end such a happy day by falling asleep beside you. I thought I'd have sweet dreams that way."]

I felt guilty for having had a good dream when Sia wasn't there beside me. Had she dreamed happily, sleeping alone?

["I wondered what it would have been like to wake up refreshed from a good dream and watch the morning sunlight through the window with you. Oh, I should have written this first. See the sandwich in front of you? I made it myself. Please don't skip breakfast. Promise you'll eat it."]

Sia used to nag me for not eating breakfast, so the moment I read that, I picked up the sandwich and took a bite. It tasted just like the sandwiches she'd sometimes made for me before.

["Call me when you finish reading this, Oppa. I love you."]

* * *

Time passed quickly, and before I knew it, it was time to meet Sia's grandfather. I stayed on the phone with Sia until just before our appointment, then used the ring her grandfather had given me to travel to his lair in Taebaek.

'Wow.' It wasn't my first visit, but I still couldn't get used to it. The sheer scale of the lair, the atmosphere... It felt, to exaggerate a little, like visiting another planet.

Sia's grandfather welcomed me warmly as soon as I arrived. "Come in. Have you been well?" "Yes. Have you been well too, sir?" "Thanks to you, I have." After we exchanged greetings, he led me to a reception room.

Strangely, the room had the feel of a hanok, a traditional Korean house. As I looked around in wonder, Rokan remarked with evident pride, "I visited a hanok once. I liked its quiet charm, so I decorated this room the same way." "It feels even more like a hanok than most real ones. You have an incredible eye, sir." It could have been awkward without Sia there, but thankfully, the small talk kept it from feeling that way.

"Thank you. And Minjun?" "Yes?" "I'd prefer it if you called me by name instead of 'Grandfather.'" "Lord Rokan, you mean?"

Honestly, it felt awkward to me. As a dragon, he might not think much of it, but calling the grandfather of the woman I intended to marry by his name? As a Korean born and raised, I couldn't help feeling uncomfortable.

"Yes. I'm more comfortable with that. I'm still not used to anyone but Shasha calling me Grandpa." "All right, Lord Rokan." If that was what he preferred, I'd adapt.

"Then let's get down to business." "Yes." With even the question of how to address him settled, we turned to the matter at hand.

"Shasha told me you managed to draw out the power of the Dragon Bone Sword?" When I'd spoken to Sia last night, she'd mentioned going to her grandfather's lair. She must have told him then. "Yes."

"Draw your sword." No sooner had he said it than Rokan took a wooden sword out of his pocket dimension. "I need to see it with my own eyes." That meant I'd have to cross swords with him.

But... 'Is this really okay...?' To be honest, it felt a little strange. There was nothing odd about crossing swords with Rokan in itself, but the sword I was supposed to draw was the Dragon Bone Sword. And Rokan was a dragon. If I were in his position, I'd feel pretty uncomfortable. Still, he was the one who'd told me to draw it...

"Are you sure you're all right with this?" "All right with what? I hope you're not about to say something impertinent." "No. It's just that, as you know, this sword is made from..." "Ah, that. Don't worry about it. I can see why you humans might, but it's nothing to us."

He felt nothing about someone wielding a sword made from the bones of his own kind? "Some of our kind even take up making swords from their own bones as a hobby. It happens often enough, so pay it no mind." "..." Making a sword from your own bones. I couldn't begin to understand it, but that wasn't what mattered right now.

"Now, draw your sword." I did as Rokan said, taking the Dragon Bone Sword from my pocket dimension. The moment I gripped it, he cast a spell, and the scenery changed. We were standing in a wide field I didn't recognize.

"Swing that sword the way you did for Shasha. I'll only defend." He beckoned me forward, urging me to begin. "You'll only defend?" "This isn't a sparring match. Why would I attack? Stop talking and swing your sword."

My pride stung for a moment, but my opponent was a dragon. One who had once been the Dragon Lord, at that. Given the difference in our strength, it made sense.

"Then here I come." I took a moment to steady my breathing, then sprang forward with the sword in my hand.

For now, I'd forget he was Sia's grandfather. Forget I was being tested. I just had to swing my sword as I had at the training ground. Repeating that to myself, I closed the distance and swung with all my strength.

* * *

Before meeting Minjun, Rokan had spent a long time talking with his granddaughter. Both he and Sia had once thought they would never see each other again, so they had plenty to catch up on. They spoke warmly for hours, and naturally, the conversation turned to her previous life and to Minjun.

'A human who drew out the power of the Dragon Bone Sword.'

'He did more than just draw it out. I don't know if this is the right way to put it, but... It felt like a dragon was swinging its own foreleg, not a human swinging a sword.'

Hearing his granddaughter describe it that way had caught Rokan by surprise. He had seen humans draw out the Dragon Bone Sword's power and accomplish great things, but never one who gave him that impression. He'd considered the possibility that she was exaggerating because Minjun was the man she loved, but he knew she wasn't that sort of person—or rather, that sort of dragon.

'If what my Shasha says is true...'

How could he not look forward to this? He wanted to protect his granddaughter's love, but apart from that, he was eager to satisfy his own curiosity. With that in mind, Rokan knocked Minjun's sword aside.

'...I'm not so sure.' He could see what his granddaughter had meant. Minjun certainly wielded the sword differently from other Dragon Bone Sword users. But that was all. Nothing else stood out. Rokan brushed the blade away and waited for Minjun's next strike.

They exchanged a second and third blow in quick succession. First an upward strike, then one sweeping down to the left. Minjun seemed to be changing his approach, perhaps because he felt his first strike had lacked impact, but... "I'm still not seeing it." Even that fell short of Rokan's expectations. They'd crossed swords only three times, but he'd expected bolder, sharper attacks. He couldn't shake the impression that something was missing.

"With potential like yours, it makes no sense that this is all you can show me." Minjun's eyebrows twitched for an instant. "I'll keep going until you see what you're looking for." "You'd better."

Minjun swung again, and Rokan's sword blocked him just as easily. That was fine. It wasn't a sparring match in the first place. Ten exchanges passed, then twenty, but Rokan's expression remained unchanged.

"At this level, you'll never fully command the power of our kind." "..." "You might make a name for yourself as a hunter someday. You can use some of our power, after all. You might gain a fair amount of wealth and fame, too. But that's not your goal, is it?"

Rokan decided Minjun needed a turning point—either a strong jolt or an answer to what was holding back his potential. Meanwhile, Minjun stood frowning and breathing hard. 'Damn it.' He wasn't angry at Rokan. He was angry at himself.

If he couldn't fully command a dragon's power, the restrictions on seeing Sia would never be lifted. He couldn't let that happen. He had to change Rokan's opinion of him and make him admit there was at least some hope.

"I can't let that happen." "No, you can't. I don't want to see my granddaughter sad, either." "What do I have to do to satisfy you, sir?" "Come at me with everything you have." "... Pardon?" Minjun had expected something profound, but Rokan's answer was surprisingly simple.

"Right now, you're holding back when you swing your sword." "...! That's not true! I'm doing everything I—" "This isn't about whether you're trying your best. You're conscious of the fact that your opponent is a dragon—and Shasha's grandfather." Minjun wanted to deny it, but Rokan was right. Telling himself to swing boldly couldn't make it happen. This was nothing like fighting lizardmen or wood golems at the training ground. Without realizing it, Minjun had been swinging cautiously, tensely.

"Dominate." At that one word from Rokan, Minjun felt a tingling run through his entire body. "Dragons have been born with the instinct to dominate since the beginning of time. Without it, none of this means anything."

Domination. Minjun had understood it instinctively, too. Dragons ruled over others. To wield their power, he had to swing his sword with the will to dominate. But what had he been doing? He'd meant to give it his all, but he hadn't swung his sword with that mindset. How could he dare, standing before an ancient dragon? Before Sia's grandfather?

"Imagine you're trying to dominate me. Beyond that, imagine dominating every dragon." No matter who his opponent was, he had to draw out the dragon's power with the intent to dominate. No—with the conviction that dominating them was only natural. That was exactly what Rokan was pointing out.

"I will." A smile tugged at Minjun's lips. For this moment, he'd swing his sword like a tyrant. He'd cast aside the thought that he was "just an unremarkable D-rank hunter" and imagine bringing even an ancient dragon—one who could toy with rankers—under his heel.

Minjun gripped his sword again. He moved quickly, but without rushing. He swung with a fierce determination to dominate, yet with an air of regal composure.

"Haaaaah!" With a roar almost like a scream, Minjun drove in a strike with everything he had.

The result was the same. Rokan blocked the attack, and his wooden sword showed no change. But when Minjun swung again—a small crack appeared in Rokan's wooden sword.

The moment Rokan saw the crack in his sword, his eyes... "So you're not a complete fool after all." At last, satisfaction began to show in them.