Chapter 47 - Oppa, Did You Wait Long?

'What... is this?'

I couldn't close my mouth at the astonishing sight unfolding overhead.

I'd known for a while that Sia was so strong it would be insulting to compare her to any ordinary hunter. But seeing is believing. I'd only known she was strong; I'd never actually seen her fight with everything she had. Until now, I'd only imagined what it would be like if Sia got serious. Now it was happening right before my eyes.

Meteor. Even S-rank mages struggled with it; among mages, it was considered an exceptionally difficult spell to cast. Yet I could see no fewer than five enormous meteors. Just creating and sustaining that many would consume a tremendous amount of mana, but Sia showed no sign of strain. She controlled them freely, as if she were playing with little stones.

Even wyverns would have trouble withstanding those meteors. A single gesture from Sia left them in chaos, reeling in midair or plummeting after taking what looked like fatal blows.

But... 'If they fall like that...'

The wyverns would die in moments, but if their bodies fell into a densely populated area, the casualties could be enormous. Just as I wondered whether I ought to do something to prevent that, the carcasses falling between the buildings floated back up and began stacking neatly, one by one, on the rooftops. Amid all the chaos, Sia kept perfect control of the meteors and struck the wyverns that were still alive.

'...!'

And there was more. I hadn't noticed it at first, but as I watched the battle unfold, I realized it instinctively: Sia had used Dragon Fear from the start to freeze the wyverns in place. Though they were dangerous monsters that had claimed the lives of many hunters, they couldn't even think of fleeing, much less mount a proper attack. They remained rooted to the spot.

There were only two kinds of wyvern up there: those already dead and falling, and those still alive but unable to move.

Meanwhile, the house-sized meteors Sia had summoned swooped through the air like stunt planes. Brilliant lights flashed dozens of times a second as she unleashed spells I couldn't identify.

How long did it go on? In the end, the dozens of wyverns that could have devastated the area were subdued in an instant, before they could do a thing. In just five minutes. All because they'd happened to interrupt Sia's date.

"What... was that?"

I'd told everyone to shelter in the corner, yet a man's voice came from right beside me. I turned to find him staring out the window, muttering in a daze. He must have crept over after the fight began and watched the whole thing.

'I told them to stay out of danger.' There were always people who wouldn't listen. It was a good thing Sia had taken care of everything, or this could have become a real problem.

But instead of scolding him for doing something dangerous, I let everyone in the shop know it was over. "I think you can relax now. It's all over, and the gate seems to have closed."

There were always one or two people like him, and there was no point getting angry now that it was over.

"Phew..."

"Really? Already?"

Relieved, the customers put hands to their chests and slowly returned to their seats.

"I guess it wasn't such a dangerous gate break after all."

Not long after things had settled down, a woman seated behind me said that to the friend she'd come with. At that moment, the man who'd been secretly watching through the window beside me butted in.

"Not at all! I saw it. That was no ordinary gate break. I think wyverns came out..."

I had no idea why he felt the need to make such a fuss in a conversation between strangers, but the mention of wyverns startled the women into listening. Others, too, seemed shocked to learn it hadn't been an ordinary gate, and began paying attention to him.

"Wyverns?"

"Wait, if they were wyverns... we really could have died."

"B-but... if wyverns really appeared, how could the gate have been cleared so quickly?"

"Hunter, were there really wyverns? And has the gate even been cleared?"

I'd meant to wait quietly for Sia, but thanks to that man, all eyes were turning toward me. Some couldn't believe it; others suspected the danger wasn't over. I tried to calm them down. "Yes. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true."

"That's impossible..."

Apparently unable to imagine so many wyverns being killed so quickly with hardly any damage, people gathered in little groups and whispered in disbelief. I ignored them and waited quietly for Sia.

She returned before long, looking so relaxed that it was hard to believe she'd just fought dozens of wyverns. Anyone would think she'd stepped out to use the bathroom, not to stop a gate break.

"Oppa, sorry. Did you wait long?"

"No, but more importantly, um..."

I trailed off because other people could hear us, but Sia quietly cast Silence around us before answering. "I couldn't let that ruin our date. So I took care of it quickly."

She called a gate break estimated at S-rank—dangerous enough to make headlines across the country for days—"that." It brought home to me all over again just how extraordinary dragons were.

"You're not hurt anywhere, are you?"

"Of course not! Not even a scratch, so don't worry."

Saying something like that couldn't hurt her, Sia went right back to eating tteokbokki as though nothing had happened.

I wanted to do the same—to chat with her in that sweet, easy atmosphere as if nothing had happened—but... the image of Sia slicing through wyverns as easily as chopping radishes still lingered. The cute Sia in front of me was the same woman who'd dispatched wyverns as easily as catching lizards. I was still stunned.

"Oppa, what's wrong? Have you lost your appetite?"

I'd stopped eating and was staring into space, and Sia sounded worried.

"No. I was just thinking... thanks to you, the whole world will be talking about this for a while. There's no chance they'll find out it was you, right?"

If they did, it would probably cause no end of trouble. Sia smiled at my concern. "Don't worry! I changed my appearance on the way there, and I erased every trace of mana I left behind. No one will know it was me."

"Unless they're a dragon too," she added softly.

After that, Sia told me about her fight with the wyverns. Just as I'd thought, she'd first used Dragon Fear to subdue them, then finished them off with Meteor as quickly and cleanly as possible. She also said she'd put the wyvern carcasses—I'd thought she'd destroyed them—in her lair for the time being. She planned to sell them later or process them into new equipment.

"Anyway! I've talked about myself too much. I wanted to hear about you too, Oppa."

"Then shall we finish talking at a café?"

The gate break had left the atmosphere here too unsettled to stay much longer.

"Sure! But first, Oppa, I'm going to get a few servings of tteokbokki to take away."

Sia really did like this place's tteokbokki. I'd have to bring her back sometime.

* * *

After we finished eating, we spent a lovely time together at a cozy café. From there, we went straight to my apartment. We only had an hour left together, which wasn't really enough time to go anywhere else.

"Next time, why don't we spend all four hours at your place, eating chicken and drinking beer?"

"I'd like that. It'd be just like old times."

After buying some snacks and drinks at the convenience store near my apartment, I went home with Sia.

"Mmm, something smells nice. Oppa, do you use a diffuser?"

"No. Maybe it's the fabric softener? I can't smell anything, though."

Maybe being a dragon made Sia's sense of smell keener than a human's.

"Oh, then it must be you. Oppa, how can even your scent be so handsome?"

"... Ugh. Sia, you're embarrassing me."

Her inventive compliment made me cringe with embarrassment. I hung my head, and Sia gave my back a light pat. "But it's true," she said.

There wasn't much to see in my cramped apartment, but Sia inspected it thoroughly.

"The clothes I gave you last time are hanging up nicely, aren't they?"

She checked the balcony, saw the clothes she'd given me hanging there, and smiled with satisfaction. I still didn't know exactly why she'd given them to me, but I'd kept them safe in case she came over, like she had today.

"It's nice for a guy who lives alone to have at least one woman's outfit and a pair of shoes around, right?"

"...?"

Sometimes, listening to Sia made me feel as though I'd landed in a world where gender roles were reversed.

Anyway, after looking around my little apartment, Sia sat on the floor and opened the snacks we'd bought.

"We used to do this all the time. Remember?"

"No matter how hard things were, having a beer with you here was what I looked forward to. I don't think I realized back then how precious that little bit of happiness was."

We chatted about old memories as we ate. Then, halfway through the snacks...

"Oh, right. I've got something for you, Oppa."

Sia took something out of her pocket dimension and set it in front of me: a ring and necklace in a clean silvery-white shade. Come to think of it, she'd arrived wearing a new ring and necklace I hadn't seen before. Was that why she'd smiled so strangely when I told her I liked her new jewelry?

"Are they matching pieces?"

"Yep! I made them myself so we could wear them together. What do you think? Pretty, aren't they?"

"Whoever made these has excellent taste."

Normally I'd have thought jewelry in that color might look a little strange on a man, but the fine craftsmanship and simple design made me think I could wear them comfortably.

"Hee, I'm glad. I was really careful making them, because I wanted us to wear them together. Want me to put the necklace on you?"

"Yes. Thanks."

As soon as I agreed, Sia fastened the necklace around my neck, humming to herself, then slipped the ring onto my finger herself.

"Mmm. I knew it. Everything looks good on you, Oppa."

Pleased with the result, she took a photo of me wearing the new ring and necklace.

"Oh, and Oppa? There's a secret about that necklace and ring. Want to guess what it is?"

"A secret?"

Sia leaned toward me, eyes sparkling as though she couldn't wait for me to guess.

"Let's see. What secret could they be hiding?"

What secret could be hidden in such small pieces of jewelry? After thinking for a moment, one possibility came to mind. The instant it did, goose bumps broke out all over my body.

'... It can't be, can it?'

I tried to deny it, but deep down I knew my hunch was probably right. Still hoping I was wrong, I asked Sia cautiously.

"These... did you make them entirely out of your bones?"

At my question, Sia's eyes curved into crescents. "Yep! How did you know?"

... Why were my worst hunches always right?