My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon - Chapter 12

WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon ◈

Chapter 12: Oppa, Can You Really Do It?

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Minjun and Sia could not accept Rokan's words.

They had only just reunited, yet he was saying they should not be close to each other.

It made no sense.

Why would he go so far as to say that Minjun would die if they stayed together?

Was he deliberately saying that to keep Sia away from Minjun?

Even if he was a dragon, and even if he was Sia's grandfather, Minjun thought he had to speak his mind.

"Grandfather. I truly don't understand. If you simply don't like me, then please tell me why. Tell me what it is about me that you don't like. Then I'll either accept it, fix it, or do whatever I can."

Sia did not stop Minjun either. Instead, she glared at her grandfather with resentment in her eyes.

She could not understand his words either.

"Grandpa, don't say something so ridiculous! Come on, Oppa. I'll talk to Grandpa later."

Sia spun around and grabbed Minjun's hand, trying to leave the lair.

"You will regret it."

Even after hearing that, Sia only glanced back at her grandfather with an angry expression before turning away again, still holding Minjun's hand.

Whether he understood her feelings or not, Rokan calmly continued.

"If you leave like this, your mate will collapse again before long. You may be able to do something the first time or two. But after that, his condition will grow too severe to reverse."

At the thought of Minjun becoming so ill that nothing could be done, Sia flinched.

No. That could not happen.

She repeated that to herself and tried to leave the lair, but Rokan did not stop speaking.

"When your lover's life is in danger, when you can no longer even guarantee whether he will live or die... Shasha, you will come back to me carrying your limp lover on your back. Is that the future you want?"

The words were so cruel that they sounded less like advice and more like a curse.

They were not words a grandfather should say to his granddaughter and her lover.

Yet Rokan's expression was grave.

He had not the slightest desire to curse his beloved granddaughter and her lover.

He merely wanted her to take his warning more seriously, so he had used a little shock therapy.

Perhaps it worked, because Sia stopped at those chilling words.

Her eyes reddened as she looked at her grandfather.

"Grandpa, tell me honestly. You don't like Minjun, do you? That's why you're saying this, right?"

Her hands trembled as she struggled to accept reality.

She wanted Rokan's words to come from personal feelings instead.

If that were the problem, she was confident she could do anything to change her grandfather's mind.

But if what he said was true...

'Then what... happens?'

She could not imagine it.

No, she did not even want to.

Rokan's heart ached at the desperate look in his granddaughter's eyes as he slowly continued.

"Shasha, no matter whom you love, your grandfather will always be on your side. You remember that, don't you? But..."

Rokan paused to gather his thoughts, then spoke calmly.

"Your energies are a poor match."

"...Our energies are a poor match?"

As if something had occurred to her, Sia's pupils trembled faintly.

A terrible feeling crawled up her spine.

"It is difficult to explain in detail here, so I will keep it simple. Shasha, as you well know, the energy you possess is more special and intense than that of other dragons. You know that, don't you?"

"Is that... is that the problem? Why?"

Rather than answer, Rokan silently took Sia's hand with a sorrowful expression.

But she could not understand why it would be a problem.

Other dragons had envied her energy, calling it a blessing.

They told her that thanks to that special energy, she would leave her name in dragon history.

They said she, too, would have the honor of becoming a Dragon Lord like her grandfather.

Everyone had said so. That was why she had believed it to be a kind of blessing bestowed by heaven.

But why did it have to be...

"How could that... No, are you saying it is incompatible with Minjun? Why...?"

Her gaze lost focus, and her voice shook.

"Then because of that energy... if Minjun and I are together, Minjun will die...?"

Sia bit her lip.

She wanted to scream.

To say no. To say that could not possibly be true.

Rokan gently held Sia's hands in both of his.

"You neither want to understand it nor can understand it. But it cannot be helped."

It would be difficult for her to accept reality.

As if he understood that feeling well, Rokan shook his head with a troubled expression.

"...Is there a way? Isn't there any way? A way for me to control my energy better, or anything! A way to keep seeing Oppa!"

"There is. But you should consider it nearly impossible."

"Still. Please tell us."

Rokan hesitated for a moment, but eventually decided to tell his granddaughter the method.

"Your lover must learn to wield the power of a dragon completely."

"...?"

"What...?"

Minjun and Sia's eyes widened, and Rokan gave a bitter smile.

"For now, that is the only way."

Even Sia, who had experienced the miracle of reincarnation, thought this was not merely nearly impossible.

It was impossible.

Of course, after seeing Minjun draw out the power of the Dragon Bone Sword, she thought he might someday reach the point where he could wield a certain amount of dragon power.

But that only meant a certain amount. In the history of the continent, not a single human had ever wielded a dragon's power completely.

'I need to find another way.'

She did not know what it would be, but whatever it was, it had to be more realistic than this.

Sia resolved to find that method by any means necessary.

When she had said she would complete dimensional travel magic, everyone had pointed at her and called it impossible.

But in the end, had she not succeeded before their eyes?

There had to be a way this time too.

'No. There has to be.'

Her eyes trembled.

Meanwhile, Minjun looked at Sia, who had sunk into thought alone, with a pained expression.

Though she did not say it outright, he could read her thoughts in those anxiety-filled eyes.

'She's trying to solve it by herself.'

The chance of success seemed so slim that she was probably thinking she should handle it herself.

But the moment Minjun understood her feelings, something hot rose within him.

'Why?'

Why was she trying so hard?

Sia had already taken on far too much.

For him, who would have been grieving, she had sacrificed two thousand five hundred years so that she could meet him again.

He had thought he should let her live a happy life without any more worries now.

But contrary to his hopes and determination, Sia was trying to sacrifice herself again.

'I can't bear to watch Sia suffer.'

The moment he realized it, his heart ached.

It did not matter if the path ahead was covered in thorns.

As long as happiness with Sia waited at the end of it.

Minjun was willing to walk that thorny road.

"Grandfather, earlier, you said it was close to impossible."

Reincarnation existed. Dimensional travel magic existed. Could one's species not be changed as well?

At first, Minjun had misunderstood Rokan's words, so it had taken him some time to grasp them.

But after carefully considering what Rokan had said, he concluded that wielding a dragon's power completely might not be entirely impossible.

Rokan had said it was close to impossible, not impossible.

Just as Sia had once researched dimensional travel magic.

If there was even the slightest possibility, Minjun thought it was worth trying.

Sia had already sacrificed everything for him once.

So this time, it was Minjun's turn to show her how he felt.

"If it isn't simply an absurd idea, if it is only difficult enough to be nearly impossible... then please tell me the method."

Minjun's voice was filled with firm resolve.

But Sia grabbed his hand and pleaded with him instead.

"Oppa. This... isn't right. Anyone can see that it's impossible. I'll find another way, so..."

She wanted to tell him that she had already walked that thorny road once, so she would walk it again. That he should simply stay by her side and watch quietly.

But.

"Sia."

Without even listening to the rest of what she had to say, Minjun pulled her into his arms.

"You told me that you spent two thousand years researching a way to meet me. So let me handle it now. I'll find a way."

Perhaps Minjun's sincerity reached her.

Tears began to gather in Sia's eyes again.

Rokan, who had silently watched them, closed his eyes for a moment in thought.

"...Very well. If your determination is that firm, I will tell you the method before long."

Rokan took a ring from within his robes and handed it to Minjun.

"It is a ring inscribed with Teleport magic, with this place's coordinates entered into it. Come back here in three days. We will speak again then."

"Thank you."

He did not know what he would hear in three days, but even a faint thread of hope was better than none.

As Minjun put on the ring Rokan had given him, Sia looked back and forth between Minjun and the ring with a complicated expression.

"Grandpa. Give me a ring too. The same one."

"It would not be difficult, but Shasha, do you not have any need for one?"

A ring inscribed with Teleport magic might be a valuable artifact to an ordinary human, but by dragon standards, it was nothing more or less than junk.

Rokan did not mind giving her the same ring, but he wanted to know why.

"Do I really... have to say it myself?"

For some reason, Sia's face had turned as red as a tomato.

"Th-th-that..."

Sia wondered whether she should answer or not.

Then, lowering her head in embarrassment, she replied in a tiny voice that was barely audible.

"...Rings."

"What was that?"

"Couple rings! Couple rings! Grandpa, don't you know what couple rings are? We're a couple, so wouldn't it look strange if only Oppa wore a ring? If Oppa is wearing one, I want to wear the same one too! Okay?"

Her embarrassment exploded as she covered her flushed face.

Sia turned her back on her grandfather, as though asking if she really had to say all that.

"I hate you, Grandpa. You knew all along."

Her voice was full of hurt.

"I truly did not know. I am sorry."

Rokan took an identical ring out of his pocket dimension and handed it to his granddaughter.

Though he apologized aloud, he had to suppress the laughter rising within him at this unfamiliar side of his granddaughter.

The moment she received it, Sia slipped the ring onto her ring finger.

Then she looked at the ring on her finger with satisfaction.

"Oppa. Aren't you going to put yours on?"

"Oh, right."

Everything had been happening so quickly that Minjun had received the ring without thinking to put it on.

He hurriedly slipped it on.

"Don't ever take it off, Oppa. Okay?"

"Okay."

"I'm never taking mine off either. Promise?"

"Even if you told me to take it off, I wouldn't. Don't worry."

Satisfied by the answer she wanted, she hugged Minjun, but soon her expression darkened.

"When can we see each other again?"

"Yeah. According to what Grandfather said, it seems we still have some time together, but I don't know how much."

Some time had passed, but Minjun did not suddenly lose consciousness again like before.

"It is only temporary, but I have taken measures through magic. Let me see. You have exactly six hours left."

It was not much time at all.

Minjun set a timer so that he would not waste even a minute of his time with Sia.

"Grandpa, then once six hours pass... until this problem is solved, will we never be able to meet again?"

Sia asked her grandfather with a gloomy expression.

They had finally reunited. If they were only given six hours, nothing could be more unfair.

"I gave you room to misunderstand."

At the word misunderstanding, both their faces gradually brightened.

"It does not mean you cannot meet at all. If my guess is correct, you should still be able to see each other for about three hours a week."

"!!!"

They had thought they would not be able to meet at all until the problem was resolved, but that was not the case.

Three hours a week.

It was very little time, but it was still something.

"Grandpa, then..."

"No."

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"How could I not know? Why do you think I called it a temporary measure? This magic requires considerable power even from me. You were probably thinking I could keep extending your time together like this, but regrettably, I cannot."

Even her grandfather, an ancient dragon who had reached the pinnacle of magic and a former Dragon Lord, said the magic required great power.

Sia lowered her head again.

Today was the only day the two of them would be granted six whole hours together.

"That time may increase depending on how hard you work. And if you work hard enough to risk your life, as I said, there may be no restrictions on when you can meet."

Rokan faced Minjun and looked directly into his eyes.

A mere human, freely wielding the power of dragons, beings far greater than humans.

What mindset would someone need to pursue such a nearly impossible goal?

Minjun's eyes were filled with determination.

"I will work as if my life depends on it."

"Good. That is the attitude you need."

Rokan nodded in satisfaction.

"Let us discuss what we could not cover today next time."

Every minute and second must be precious to them now.

It would take several more hours to explain their situation and the solution in greater detail.

So Rokan decided to end the complicated discussion there for the moment.

He wanted to give this affectionate couple, who had met across dimensions and even across a lifetime, time to themselves.