Chapter 59 — Because I Had to Tell You Eventually
Chapter 59 — Because I Had to Tell You Eventually
Translation: GodTL
A space boasting breathtaking scenery, permitted only to the two of us.
The landscape was undeniably beautiful, and the gentle breeze—blowing in from who-knows-where—added to the atmosphere.
In such a romantic setting, sharing food we had each prepared while exchanging intimate conversation naturally evoked the kind of romantic feelings you'd only see in dramas.
"Oppa, say 'ah'."
"Ah—."
Sia fed me a kimbap roll she had made herself, and not to be outdone, I in turn fed her some tteokbokki I had prepared.
As we happily ate each other's food, we naturally smiled at one another.
"This place is really nice. I think it'd be great to come here for dates often in the future too."
"Right? There's no one else here but us. That's what makes the atmosphere even better. It feels like we're the only two people left in this vast world."
Sia confessed that she had always wanted to try a date in a setting like this at least once.
"Later on, it might not be a bad idea to buy a deserted island for our dates. We could buy an island, build our own private villa there, and live in it. What do you think, Oppa? Sounds good, doesn't it?"
"Just imagining it is nice."
"We could go fishing there, catch crabs or clams to make seafood stew, and at night, we could stargaze together from the rooftop..."
It was the kind of romantic fantasy that would normally remain just that—a fantasy. But with Sia, there was a chance she might actually turn it into reality.
As we let our imaginations run wild, a question suddenly occurred to me.
"Sia, by the way—does this place also have seasons implemented?"
"Why?"
"Well, it's autumn in Korea right now. I was just thinking how nice it would've been if we could see the mountainside below covered in vibrant red and yellow leaves."
It was already beautiful enough, but since it was autumn, I couldn't help but think of crimson foliage.
Still, it wasn't like the training grounds would realistically have all four seasons simulated, so I was about to suggest we go see the autumn leaves together soon to make up for it—when suddenly—
"Wait a second, Oppa."
Sia rummaged through her subspace and pulled out a Crystal Orb.
It looked exactly like the one Rokan had taken out here before.
As Sia channeled mana into the Crystal Orb, the lush green leaves around us began turning red in an instant, transforming into autumn foliage.
Starting with the trees around us, all the way to those densely covering the cliffs below—every single one.
"How is it? Do you like it?"
"It's really beautiful..."
It had already been stunning before, but now, with the autumn leaves, its beauty seemed to have doubled.
The sight was so rare, so breathtaking, that I found myself pulling out my phone in a daze to take pictures.
When Sia gestured toward the sky, a single red leaf fluttered down from a nearby tree and landed gently in her palm.
After examining it closely, she handed it to me.
"Here, a gift. Get it laminated and use it as a bookmark."
"Thanks."
Even this small, seemingly insignificant gesture of thoughtfulness from Sia struck me as incredibly endearing.
I carefully accepted the leaf and stored it in my subspace.
Then, as a token of gratitude, I fed her another bite of tteokbokki.
Sia closed her eyes happily, savoring the taste.
"But now that I think about it, it's kind of amazing."
"What is?"
Wiping the tteokbokki sauce from her lips, Sia tilted her head.
"The place you lived in was a different dimension from Earth, right? But the autumn leaves here look so similar to the ones there."
It suddenly made me curious—what did the autumn leaves in Sia's world look like?
At my somewhat random question, Sia laughed and answered.
"Well, the leaves there are surprisingly similar to the ones here. Not exactly the same, but whenever they change color, it reminds me of when we went to see the autumn leaves together before."
Since the conversation had naturally led here, I decided to ask—though it might've been a bit abrupt—about what Sia's life as a Dragon had been like.
After all, I had been meaning to ask her eventually.
"Sia, could you tell me a little more about that? About your homeland, and the life you lived there."
"...Hmm."
If it were the usual Sia, she would've eagerly launched into the story. But judging by her reaction now, she didn't seem too keen on talking about it.
Why was that?
Having lived for an unimaginably long time—over two thousand five hundred years—she must've had countless interesting stories, things she'd want to share.
But now that I thought about it, Sia had been strangely reluctant to talk about that world and her life there.
In fact, apart from the first day we reunited, she had barely mentioned it at all.
Judging by her reaction, it seemed I'd have to wait until Sia was ready to speak about it herself.
"If you don't want to, you don't have to force yourself to talk about it."
I wasn't sure if I'd unintentionally touched a nerve, but given Sia's reaction, it seemed better to change the subject.
However, Sia shook her head side to side, then let out a deep sigh as if steeling herself before speaking slowly.
"No. It's just... these are things I would've had to tell you eventually anyway. And, well, keeping too many secrets from someone you love isn't great either."
Now that things had come to this, she might as well share everything she hadn't been able to say before, Sia began.
"The reason I never told you, Oppa, was just... because they weren't exactly pleasant stories."
Calmly, Sia started recounting in detail the life she had lived as a Dragon—the life she had never spoken of until now.
When she first realized she had been reincarnated as a Dragon, the very first emotion she felt was nothing short of confusion.
For someone who had once indulged in fantasy novels and let their imagination run wild, being reborn as a Dragon—the most powerful beings in existence—might have been a joyous thing. But for her, it wasn't all happiness.
Some of it was because Min-jun was no longer by her side, but there was another reason.
Namely, the way Dragons regarded humans.
Even though most Adult Dragons spent the majority of their time in human form, paradoxically, the vast majority of them saw humans as insignificant, inferior creatures.
Like how humans might look at a baby monkey.
And—living among Dragon society, she came to realize something else.
Just how they felt about romantic relationships with humans.
Among Dragons, it was widely believed that developing romantic feelings for humans or even considering building a life with them was impure. Humans were nothing more than playthings.
These values created an identity crisis within her.
Why wouldn't they?
It's often said that people born into multicultural families struggle with their identity during childhood.
But in her case, it was far worse.
Because it wasn't just two different cultures—it was two different species.
Because of that, she couldn't even bring herself to confide in other Dragons about her struggles, leaving her to suffer in silence.
Especially before she revealed to her family there that she was a Reincarnator.
She had been loved by her kin as a Dragon—while carrying the soul of an "inferior" human.
As time passed, an unspoken guilt began to take root in a corner of her heart.
But that wasn't all that tormented her.
In that world, Sia was the pride of the Red Dragon clan.
As Rokan had mentioned before, she was born with a unique energy unlike any other Dragon.
She possessed overwhelming power that couldn't even be compared to Dragons of her age.
That made the other Dragons cherish her even more.
But paradoxically, it also became another burden weighing on her life there.
Because she felt she was receiving far more love than she deserved.
The casual disdain Dragons had for humans—while she, who had once been human, was showered with excessive attention and affection in this world.
It was only natural that it would take a toll on her mind.
And yet, the suffering didn't end there.
When she was around a hundred years old—equivalent to a mere four years in human terms—the energy slumbering within her suddenly began to Outburst.
As mentioned before, she had been born with an energy so rare that it was one of a kind even in the long history of Dragons. So, no Dragon could predict what effect this would have on her in the future.
They simply assumed she would grow into a power surpassing other Dragons and, like her grandfather, eventually become a Dragon Lord leading their clan.
But perhaps that power was simply too overwhelming for a soul that had once been human.
One day, that energy consumed her.
The first time it happened, Sia and her family were utterly terrified.
Even they had never witnessed such a phenomenon before.
No matter what they tried—healing magic, elixirs, even Dragon Words—her Outburst wouldn't stop.
The only saving grace was that no one was harmed by it, and the Outburst subsided on its own after a single day.
Though these episodes repeated afterward, thankfully, their frequency gradually decreased over time.
"I'm rambling, aren't I? Anyway, that's how it was. There were plenty of good, happy memories too—but whenever I think back to that time, these bad ones also come up, so I just... avoided thinking about it at all."
"I see."
"And... I just wanted to be Jung Sia, the human, in front of you—not the Red Dragon Shasha. That's why I deliberately avoided talking about it. But still, it feels better to get it all off my chest."
Sia met Min-jun's gaze with a faint smile.
But for some reason, Min-jun had the vague impression that this smile was subtly different from the ones she usually gave him.
Truth be told, his intuition wasn't entirely wrong.
Even though she claimed to have unburdened herself, there were still things she hadn't told him.
For instance, the fact that Dragons existed in this world too—and that when she met them, they had reacted with the same disgust toward the idea of a Dragon harboring genuine romantic feelings for a human.
No matter how much she wanted to pour everything out, Sia couldn't bring herself to tell him that.
Unaware that Min-jun had picked up on something strange, she leaned against his lap and asked for a lap pillow.
"Oppa, can I stay like this for a little while?"
"Sure."
"It's nice getting a lap pillow again. We used to do this a lot back then."
The mood had grown a little heavy after recounting those dark memories, so Sia wanted to shift the conversation back to something sweeter.
As she pondered how to change the subject, she suddenly remembered what her grandfather had told her yesterday.
That he was planning to establish a guild for Min-jun soon.
Rokan had said it would be better if she delivered the news herself since he hadn't mentioned it to Min-jun yet, and Sia had been waiting for the right moment.
Of course, she had no idea that Min-jun had already heard about it.
Curious about how he'd react, she nestled against his lap and spoke up.
"Oppa. Should I tell you some really surprising news?"
"Surprising news?"
Min-jun immediately guessed what she was about to say.
But pretending ignorance, he met her eyes with a curious look.
"Yeah. News that'll make you super, super surprised. What do you think it is?"
"Hmm. What could it be...?"
Min-jun deliberately played dumb, dragging it out.
After debating whether to guess the answer or not, he decided against it this time.
"I can't figure it out no matter how hard I think. What's the answer?"
"Grandfather is going to personally create a guild for you!"
"Really?"
Min-jun acted as if he were hearing it for the first time, and his performance must have been convincing, because Sia excitedly continued.
"He's actually been thinking about starting a guild for a while, but because of you, he's finally decided to go through with it. Since it's kind of awkward for you to join a regular guild—but also awkward not to—he figured now's the perfect time."
"Oh..."
Though it was exactly what Rokan had told him, Min-jun kept up the act, looking genuinely intrigued.
"Oppa, did you know your smile's reaching your ears right now?"
"Ah, really?"
"You must be so happy. If I'd known you'd react like this, I would've asked Grandfather to make a guild sooner."
Sia assumed Min-jun was smiling because of the guild news, but that wasn't the case.
He was smiling because she looked so adorable, chattering away, thinking she'd successfully pulled off a surprise.
"Since it's come to this, maybe I should join Grandfather's guild too? It'll be hard to actively participate, but still. Remember what we said before? That it'd be nice if we could join the same guild together after graduating from the Academy."
"Yeah. Back then, I thought it'd be impossible since I was only D-rank. But now, it's actually happening."
"Mhm! I should tell Grandfather. Later, we can even go on dungeon dates together—fight side by side, relive old memories."
"Sounds good to me."
Ah, this is the life.
Worried that Min-jun's lap might be going numb, Sia sat up and peeled a tangerine she'd brought for dessert, feeding it to him.
Like that, the two enjoyed the scenic view in each other's company.
They hoped the rest of their date would pass just as peacefully—chatting idly, admiring the scenery, savoring the quiet time together.
After all, hadn't their last date been abruptly ruined by a sudden Gate Break incident?
Today, they wished nothing would disturb this peace.
But a short while later—
Sia realized, to her dismay, that even that small wish wouldn't be granted.
Because she could feel it—the signs of an "Outburst," the very phenomenon she had just told Min-jun about, were beginning.