WeTried Translations

Translator/Editor: Chen

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon ◈

Chapter 21: Oppa, What a Relief.

──────

After subduing the villains and clearing the Gate,

I handed the villains’ bodies over to the Hunter Police, who handled villains exclusively, and came back.

Catching and turning over the villains was one thing, but what came afterward was the problem.

I did not know exactly how strong the villain trio had been, but they were clearly overwhelmingly stronger than ordinary D-rank Hunters.

Yet a D-rank Hunter, outmatched both in strength and numbers, had completely subdued them. That would naturally seem suspicious.

The police would probably grill us about that during questioning.

Well, that was the Hunter Police’s job.

There was nothing to be done about it.

After all the procedures were over, Junhwi and I left the police station.

“Hyungnim, it went over well today, but about the questioning. What should we say?”

“About what?”

“I mean, it doesn’t make sense from their perspective. A mere D-rank Hunter killed three villains estimated to be between B-rank and C-rank.”

From the police’s point of view, they might even suspect that we were hiding our strength.

Then they might question whether the two of us had deliberately received ranks lower than our actual abilities.

I was aware of that too, so from the moment we left the Gate, I had tried to summon that mysterious aurora-colored sword aura again.

But I failed every time.

Still, it was fortunate that we had footage of the entire incident.

“We’ll just have to explain it well. Or... we can say the villains were badly injured because of an accident in the Gate, so we were able to deal with them.”

Unexpected accidents did happen in Gates from time to time, so it would make a decent excuse.

The inside of a Gate was still an unknown world to humanity.

“Then we should get our stories straight.”

“Yeah. Let’s think it over and talk about it later.

“And, Junhwi.”

“Yes, hyungnim.”

“There’s only a one-year age difference between us, so being called hyungnim is a little uncomfortable.”

I was still only in my mid-twenties. I was too young to be called hyungnim.

...Listening to him talk, I sometimes wondered if he had worked for some kind of gang before.

“Ah, sorry. I call the hyungnims in my older sister’s guild hyungnim. I’m so used to it that I don’t think I can easily change.”

As if he had heard that more than once, Junhwi awkwardly scratched his head.

“Still, it makes me really uncomfortable. Please just call me hyung.”

“I’ll try, hyungnim.”

Ah, seriously.

It had been bearable at first, but now it was starting to make me cringe.

“And, hyungnim.”

“What?”

I was just about to tell him to call me hyung when I saw the serious look in Junhwi’s eyes and swallowed the words.

“I know I’ve said it already, but thank you so much for today. Hyungnim, if there is anything I can do to help you, please tell me.”

“That again?”

“No matter how many times I thank you, it won’t be enough. You saved my life.”

I really wished he would stop.

It was embarrassing enough to kill me.

I had not known when we first met, but Junhwi was surprisingly intense.

“Just buy me a meal.”

“I’ll buy you as many as you want! Do you like omakase, hyungnim?”

“I told you to stop calling me hyungnim.”

* * *

Since it was already around dinnertime, I had dinner with Junhwi before heading home.

Maybe because so much had happened today, I was completely exhausted.

I wanted nothing more than to collapse onto my bed and drift off to dreamland.

Still, I should call Sia before going to sleep.

“...Call her?”

Was calling her in a situation like this really the right thing to do?

It was not that I did not want to talk to Sia.

I just did not want to worry her.

I had told Sia that morning I was going to a Gate, so it would naturally come up during our call. And then I would have no choice but to tell her about running into the villains.

I could not lie and say nothing had happened. Even if I hid it, Sia would notice everything anyway. More than that, today’s events would have been vividly recorded on my wearable camera.

If she found out what had happened this time...

‘Sia’s heart... will feel heavy.’

She might grow anxious at the thought that something like this could happen again. She might lose her head at the fact that someone had tried to take my life.

Knowing Sia, she probably would not be able to sleep peacefully tonight.

Even so.

‘It is better to tell her.’

I had not done anything wrong, nor was it something I needed to hide. Besides, Sia would find out somehow sooner or later.

I immediately called Sia.

As if she had been waiting for my call, Sia answered before even a second had passed.

“Hello.”

[Oppaaaa! I missed you so, so much!]

Of course, it was a video call again.

Sia was waving both hands wildly at me, delighted to see me.

Even a year ago, we had not made video calls often. But ever since Sia returned, we had usually checked in through video calls rather than regular phone calls.

“Me too. I want to see you soon.”

[I don’t know why time is going so slowly.]

A smile naturally formed on my lips at Sia’s cute complaint.

[Oppa, how was your day? Did the Gate go well?]

Sia looked at me with sparkling eyes, as though she was ready to hear all about it.

But then...

[...Oppa? Did something happen? You don’t look well.]

Maybe she had caught the slightest change in my expression, because Sia asked in a worried voice.

I had hesitated for just a moment, wondering how I should say it.

“Our Sia is practically psychic. You’re right. Something did happen.”

[Why? What happened? Tell me, oppa. I’ll listen to anything.]

Just moments ago, Sia had been wearing a bright smile.

But then...

[It wasn’t some bitch trying to get your number again, was it?]

The instant I mentioned that something had happened, Sia’s mood changed rapidly.

[Right? I knew it. This is why I can never relax. Oppa, who was she? Was it some bitch who went into the Gate with you? Or was it-]

...It seemed she had misunderstood it as something involving another woman, like when we had gone to the tteokbokki place before.

But her cold expression lasted only briefly.

As anxiety swept over her, Sia tried to bite her nails.

I decided to quickly tell her what had happened before it led to an even bigger misunderstanding.

“It absolutely wasn’t that.”

[It wasn’t? What a relief. I was worried it might happen again.]

Relieved by my answer, Sia returned to normal.

But did she know?

That I had gone through something far more serious than that.

It hurt me to have to tell her this...

But it was something I would have to tell her eventually.

“Sia.”

[Yes.]

I began in as serious a voice as I could manage.

Sia had been smiling warmly at first, but when I gave off a more serious air than usual, her pupils began to tremble slightly.

“...”

As the silence stretched on, Sia’s face filled with anxiety.

[What is it? What happened, oppa?]

“Something a little serious happened.”

After letting out a deep sigh, I told her what had happened in the Gate today.

From the villains trying to kill me, to my suddenly gaining the ability to wield aurora-colored sword aura, and then using that power to kill the villains.

Naturally, I did not bother telling her about the insults the villains had thrown at Sia and me.

“...That is what happened.”

After telling her the long and heavy story, I cautiously watched Sia’s reaction.

As expected, she did not look well.

She clearly had much to say and much more she wanted to ask, but she was trying hard to keep her emotions under control.

Especially her eyes.

Sia’s eyes held emotions too complicated to describe.

At first, she managed to suppress them fairly well. But then, as if the emotions she had been holding back burst free, her expression began changing by the second.

Perhaps she did not want to show me that, because Sia turned off her camera.

“Sia...?”

[...I’m really glad, oppa.]

Her voice sounded calm, but it seemed as if she were forcibly holding back her emotions.

[I’m glad you came back safely.]

“Thank you. And in a way, it was thanks to you too, Sia. If it had not been for the sword you gave me, that miracle would never have happened.”

[No. It was a miracle you made, oppa. Thank you so much for coming back alive.]

She spoke brightly as though she were fine, but it was obvious she was still suppressing her emotions.

For Sia’s sake, I pretended not to notice.

“Anyway, Sia, I came back without getting hurt, so don’t worry. Okay?”

[...Okay.]

She was pretending to be cheerful, but the faint tremble in her voice made my heart ache.

It seemed like continuing the call any longer would not do either of us any good.

“Ah, I’m tired. Sorry, but let’s end the call here today and have a long talk tomorrow. Is that okay?”

[Yes. Of course. Good night, oppa.]

I ended the call and stared blankly into empty space.

Hearing Sia try so hard to sound cheerful made me feel awful.

It seemed neither of us would sleep well tonight.

If I could, I wanted to sing her a lullaby by her side and fall asleep feeling each other’s warm body heat.

Tonight felt especially lonely.

* * *

Right after ending the call,

Sia could not control the emotions boiling up from deep inside her.

After going through countless hardships to finally reunite with her precious lover, she had nearly lost him in an instant because of something so absurd.

Yet even after such a terrible incident, Minjun had worried more about her. Seeing his kindness made sorrow and guilt slowly rise from deep within Sia’s heart.

But those emotions soon changed into intense anger toward the scum who had dared try to kill Minjun.

That anger changed once more into an overwhelming sorrow that made her chest feel tight.

Sorrow that she had been unable to offer any help while Minjun risked his life to overcome that ordeal.

‘It is fortunate oppa managed to draw out that power.’

What if he had not?

Something she did not even want to imagine would have happened.

When her thoughts reached that point, she unconsciously crushed the drink bottle in her hand.

Though it was a plastic bottle, Sia’s overwhelming grip did not merely crumple it. It shattered it into tiny pieces as if it were glass.

‘What can I do for oppa?’

Sia could do anything for Minjun.

Literally, anything.

But right now,

the only thing she could do for Minjun was listen to his story and comfort him.

Those bastards who deserved to be torn apart a thousand times over were already dead.

Despite being such a powerful dragon, she could do nothing for him. The helplessness of it was enough to make her anger blaze.

Bang!

Filled with anger toward the villains and herself, she struck the floor with all her strength.

It was solid marble, but a single punch from her made a crack spread across it.

‘I have to do something.’

Not only for Minjun, but for herself as well.

If she did nothing and simply stayed still, she felt like she would go mad.

As she wondered what she could possibly do,

an idea flashed through her mind.

‘Just because they are dead does not mean I cannot take revenge.’

It would be different if she were an ordinary person, but as a dragon, she was more than capable of doing so.

Having experienced reincarnation, Sia had naturally taken an interest in the studies of necromancers ever since she was a hatchling.

That interest naturally led to a desire to learn, and she had taught herself their studies. Thanks to that, she was also quite skilled in necromancy, which summoned the souls of the dead.

‘This is it.’

If the targets of her revenge were already dead, she could summon their souls again through necromancy and take revenge.

They were probably all in hell by now.

“I will show you there is a place more terrible than hell.”

Her eyes began to fill with murderous intent.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried