WeTried Translations
Translator/Editor: Chen
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ My Girlfriend Returned as a Dragon ◈
Chapter 71: Surely You Don’t Think I’m a Dragon?
──────
The moment they faced the swarm of wyverns densely covering the sky, many of Elysium's soldiers were already psychologically overwhelmed, even before the battle had properly begun.
How many people would have to bleed to drive those monsters away?
No, could they even drive them off completely in the first place?
But thanks to Minjun's unexpected performance, the tide of battle gradually began to turn.
At first, Minjun had clearly seemed overwhelmed by the wyverns' attacks. But perhaps some miracle had occurred, because from a certain point onward, he was completely dominating them.
When the wyverns began to falter, the emboldened Elysium army did not miss the opportunity and launched a fierce offensive.
After that, the tide never turned again.
Following an intense battle, Minjun and the Elysium army finally succeeded in driving back the massive monster horde.
It was a large-scale monster invasion that might only happen once every few decades, so the losses were considerable. Still, considering the scale of the battle, they were not severe.
That was what everyone thought.
After clearing away the wyverns and completely driving off even the lesser monsters beneath the walls.
“Waaaaah!”
“We won! We won!”
“I was worried today might be the day Elysium fell.”
“Hey, do you think this place would fall that easily? It was built by a dragon personally, and it has a history stretching back tens of thousands of years.”
“Right. Elysium has tens of thousands more years before it falls, unless it's Charles's funeral day.”
“Khahaha!”
As the Elysium army shared the joy of their great victory, they also mourned the fallen and recovered their bodies.
Given the scale of the battle, everyone busily began handling the aftermath.
Watching them, Minjun wondered what he could do to help.
As he considered it, he happened to spot Estelle treating the injured.
“Lady Estelle. Is there anything I can help with?”
When Minjun called out to her, Estelle startled and vigorously shook her head.
“N-No. Minjun, you may go back and get some proper rest. Please leave this place to us.”
“It’s fine. It feels a little strange to just stand around like a useless bystander... You really don’t need to feel burdened.”
Thinking she might be refusing because she felt pressured, Minjun waved his hands and repeatedly assured her that it was fine.
Even so, Estelle seemed very uncomfortable with his response.
Why does she feel so burdened?
Anyone could see they were short-handed, yet she was turning down an offer to help.
But that was not the only strange thing.
For some reason, Minjun felt that the residents' reactions toward him had changed in an odd way.
Not only Estelle, but the other Elysium soldiers also could not properly meet his eyes.
Before the battle, they were staring at me like I was fascinating.
What could be the reason?
Because I performed better in battle than they expected?
If that were the case, they would have thanked him and praised him for his hard work.
Not acted so uncomfortable around him.
At first, he could not understand why.
But before long, Minjun learned the reason.
A considerable number of soldiers began gathering around Estelle. Soon, they all deeply bowed toward Minjun at once and cried out.
“Insignificant beings greet a Great Being!”
“O Great Being!”
“...Excuse me?”
They were all bowing toward him and calling him a Great Being.
What was this completely unexpected situation?
Minjun was dumbfounded by the scene he had never anticipated.
“Um, I think you may have misunderstood something. I’m...”
“I know of the unspoken rule that one must not interfere with a Great Being’s amusement. But we have received such great grace that I thought it would only be proper to at least offer our thanks...”
“Wait. So all of you are...”
Their expressions stood somewhere between fear and reverence, as did the words they used.
There was only one possible explanation.
“You think I’m a dragon?”
It seemed they had mistaken Minjun for a dragon.
There was no other reason they would react like this.
“You are not a Great Being...?”
“That can’t... be.”
“...Ah.”
As his guess turned to certainty, Minjun lowered his head deeply, embarrassed by their misunderstanding.
“...I’ll explain everything, so please stand up first.”
* * *
After everything had been settled, that night.
A grand drinking party was held in Elysium to celebrate that day's victory.
Most of those who had participated in the battle attended the feast, and Minjun also came to a tavern where it was being held at Estelle's invitation.
At Minjun's arrival, everyone in the tavern cheered and chanted his name.
“Minjun! Minjun!”
“The miracle sent by Lord Bellium! The incarnation of Lord Bellium!”
“Minjun, Lord Bellium's son!”
“Waaaaah!”
Amid their chants, Minjun squeezed through the narrow passage and settled into an empty seat.
Whether by coincidence or because it had been intentionally left open, Estelle was sitting beside it.
“W-Welcome, Minjun.”
“Yeah...”
They had talked comfortably when they first met, but now both of them reddened as if embarrassed to face each other.
It was because of the Elysium army's misunderstanding about Minjun a few hours earlier.
Seeing Minjun's performance in the battle against the wyverns, many people, including Estelle, had concluded that he was no ordinary person.
Not only did he possess a large number of rare artifacts that an ordinary human would struggle to obtain, he also wore two pieces of jewelry made from dragon bone.
On top of that, the sword Minjun used was the Dragon Bone Sword.
And when Minjun used Dragon Fear, they became certain.
Though he was pretending to be human, his true identity was a dragon enjoying himself in disguise.
Every clue fit perfectly.
So they truly believed Minjun was a dragon.
That was why they thought they needed to show him the utmost respect.
Though the misunderstanding had later been cleared up by Minjun's explanation.
“Earlier... Minjun, you must have been really surprised...?”
“No. It was just... a little surprising and strange.”
It was strange to think that Sia, too, must have received treatment like that from beings who were not dragons.
And it felt especially novel to think that if he someday achieved his dream of becoming a dragon, he might receive that kind of treatment as well.
But that was one thing.
The bewilderment and embarrassment of suddenly receiving deep bows from so many people was impossible to describe.
His face had burned so badly.
“What does it matter? It only means your performance was that impressive. And Estelle, why are you so embarrassed over that?”
“Ugh...”
Unable to refute him, Estelle lowered her head, while Minjun awkwardly cleared his throat.
Seeing that, the dwarf Kutun sitting across from Minjun laughed heartily.
“You can just laugh it off. Minjun, can’t you see how red this girl’s face is? Khahaha!”
Apparently finding the situation hilarious, Kutun kept laughing heartily as he held out a cup to Minjun.
“Here, have a drink.”
“Thank you.”
The moment he handed over the cup, Kutun called for a toast. Minjun clinked his cup against Kutun's without thinking and took a sip.
He had wondered whether alcohol from another world would be very different from Earth's, but both its color and taste...
“It’s beer?”
This was completely beer.
“Of course it’s beer. But how do you know beer? You said you came from another world.”
“Our world has beer too. It tastes almost the same.”
“Khat! I suppose places where people live are all similar. Or are there dwarves there too?”
“There are no dwarves.”
“Right, right. Humans may not love alcohol as much as we do, but they still enjoy it.”
Kutun laughed heartily as if that was somehow delightful, emptied his cup, refilled it, and asked Minjun.
“By the way, how can you use a dragon's power despite having a human body?”
“That’s right. I was very curious about that too. There are precedents, but it’s still not common.”
Estelle quietly joined in at Kutun's question.
“Exactly. Since it’s such a rare case, Estelle mistook Minjun for a dragon. That must be why her face is still red.”
“I-I told you to stop teasing me!”
“Khahaha! Estelle really is fun to tease. Anyway, tell us about it. Or does the world you lived in have some secret? Could it be that cases like this are common there?”
Eager to learn the secret, Kutun urged Minjun on with a face full of curiosity.
“It’s probably not a secret of his world. The secret must be with his girlfriend. Didn’t he say the artifacts and even the ring he’s wearing now were gifts from his girlfriend?”
When a large human man beside them joined in, Kutun nodded and added.
“Or maybe the girlfriend he’s seeing is a dragon. Isn’t that right?”
Kutun casually tossed it out as a joke, then let out a hearty laugh.
“How did you know?”
“...Is that true?”
Kutun looked shocked, as if he had not expected his random guess to be real.
Because of that, the cup in his hand, still half full of alcohol, fell to the floor.
Clatter!
“Oh, you old fool. How can you be drunk already?”
“What? How could that be? I’ve only had one drink. Does it make any sense that I’d be drunk?”
When Rangs, the fox beastperson at the table behind them, snickered, Kutun cried out indignantly as if his pride had been wounded.
“Anyone would be shocked speechless after hearing that.”
“What news has you making such a fuss?”
“This foreign friend says his girlfriend is a dragon.”
Clatter!
Hearing that, Rangs was so surprised that they dropped their own cup.
“Kutun, isn’t that too absurd? Say something believable.”
“I’m telling you, it’s true! This friend just said so himself!”
As the others nearby questioned him, Kutun shouted at the top of his lungs as if he had been wronged.
Seeing their reaction, Kutun could not possibly be lying.
Then...
“Y-You really are dating a dragon?”
“How is that possible? Did the dragon accidentally reveal her identity while they were dating?”
“No way. Even if she were discovered, it would be difficult to continue a normal relationship.”
“Do they know that and still continue seeing each other?”
Everyone at Rangs's table sprang to their feet and began gathering in small groups to hear Minjun's story.
People from other tables also came over to listen.
In an instant, the noisy tavern fell quiet.
More than half the eyes in the room were fixed on Minjun.
With everyone's attention on him.
“Hmm... Where should I start?”
“I don’t know where that is, but it sounds like a very open-minded world! I guess not all dragons are the same. A dragon can date a human even when they know each other’s identities.”
“Shh. Be quiet. Minjun is trying to tell the story.”
Minjun wondered whether he should tell them the truth. But since this was not Earth anyway, he decided it would not matter if they knew.
He told them how they had once been an ordinary human couple, how Sia had reincarnated as a dragon after an unfortunate accident, and how they had reunited through dimensional travel magic.
He left out that Sia was Shasha, the red dragon from this world, and that Minjun himself intended to change his race into a dragon for certain reasons.
Once Minjun finished, the once-lively atmosphere grew a little solemn.
“Everyone, a toast to Minjun and Lady Sia.”
“A toast.”
When Kutun quietly raised his cup, everyone in the tavern stood and clinked their cups together.
“It feels like I’ve just read a touching novel.”
“What a heartbreaking story. You can’t hear it without tears.”
“...That’s right. I can’t tell you how grateful I am to Sia.”
And he had not told the people here, but because of the incompatibility between their auras, they could not even meet often.
“But, if you don’t mind. I think someone behind us said this earlier.”
When Kutun dropped his cup, the fox beastperson seated behind them had teased Kutun and said something like that.
“What did you mean when you said that a dragon could date a human even when they knew each other’s identities?”
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
