Ever since their reunion after two thousand five hundred years, every moment she spent with Min-jun had felt like a dream.
She had waited for this moment and this moment alone for longer than any ordinary human could imagine. Of course she was happy.
And she had believed that happiness could go on from here, too.
It could hardly be otherwise. Two lovers who had longed for each other had met again, and nothing stood in their way anymore.
She had thought all that was left now was to be lovey-dovey and happy together without a single worry.
But in the middle of training, Min-jun suddenly lost consciousness and collapsed.
"Oppaaaa! Oppa! Oppa! Min-jun oppa! Wake up, Min-jun oppa!"
Wailing his name, Sia kept shaking Min-jun's unconscious body.
'After everything, after everything it took for us to meet again!'
At the same time, she cast every healing spell she knew on Min-jun.
"B-Breathing, I have to check if he's breathing."
With trembling hands, she felt for Min-jun's pulse.
It was faint, but thankfully his pulse was still beating.
But that was all.
For now, Min-jun showed no sign of coming to.
Why he had suddenly lost consciousness, and what state he was in now, even she couldn't tell for certain.
'A chronic illness? No, it's not that. Oppa never had anything like that. Then is there some other problem I don't know about? No, not that either. Then why did oppa collapse? Even with healing magic, he's not doing well. No, it's worse than not doing well. He's actually getting worse.'
If she hadn't been a dragon, she might already have fainted from the shock.
Barely holding herself together, Sia tried to find what had made Min-jun collapse.
But no matter how hard she racked her brain, nothing came to mind.
"Before it gets any worse......."
I need to take action.
I have to do something. Anything.
Her reason was slowly going numb.
With shaking hands, she began pulling every healing-related artifact and potion out of her subspace, grabbing whatever came to hand.
But is this the answer?
Given the state Min-jun was in, she thought they might do nothing at all, or might even cause side effects.
Then what about a Dragon Word?
"There's no time to think."
A single powerful Dragon Word spell might be better than any half-baked artifact or potion.
She was on the verge of speaking a Dragon Word aloud to wake Min-jun.
"It would be best if you did not do that."
An unfamiliar voice called out to her, and Sia turned her head to see who it belonged to.
But the owner of the voice she had taken for a stranger was, in fact, no stranger to her at all.
"Wh-Why......."
A being she had never once imagined she would meet here, on Earth.
"Grandpa, why are you here—."
The former Dragon Lord, her grandfather, who had vanished without a trace just before she turned one thousand.
Rokan was standing right in front of her.
"Sasha. Are you worried about that man?"
Sia, or rather the red dragon Sasha, nodded hard.
"Then, first of all, step well away from that man. I shall take care of the rest."
***
Right up until I lost consciousness, I had wondered if I might die just like this.
But since I had come to, it seemed I was at least alive.
All the strength had drained out of my body, though.
I opened my eyes and slowly sat up.
"This is......."
Since I had passed out and come to, I figured the first thing I'd see would be a hospital, but it wasn't.
It wasn't the training ground where I'd collapsed, or a hospital, or even my own home.
Where on earth is this?
It was a huge cave-like space that would put most indoor arenas to shame, though it didn't seem to be an ordinary cave.
Judging by the furniture, someone probably lived here.
'Wait. Where's Sia?'
Sia had definitely been beside me right up until I passed out, but here I couldn't sense anyone at all, let alone Sia.
"Sia, Sia!"
Frantic, I shouted Sia's name.
What if she's disappeared again?
No. Not that.
After everything it took for us to meet again.
"Your name was Min-jun, I believe. So, you are awake now."
Just then, I heard an unfamiliar voice.
I definitely hadn't sensed anyone.
Yet a man who looked to be in his 40s was looking down at me from above.
If there was anything unusual about him, it was that he had red hair and red eyes just like Sia's.
"Judging by how your eyes are wavering, you must be terribly flustered. Yes, I suppose you would be. I would have been too, in your place."
"Who...... are you?"
No matter how hard I racked my brain, I couldn't figure it out. Other than his hair and eyes being the same color as Sia's, there was no clue as to who the man was.
"I am Sia's grandfather."
"......Pardon?"
Her grandfather?
Sia's grandfathers, on both her father's and her mother's side, should have passed away before she became an adult.
But if he says he's her grandfather...
"Pardon me, Grandfather, but did you perhaps reincarnate as well—."
"What nonsense is that?"
Then what is he?
He was far too young to be a grandfather.
Going by looks alone, he seemed young enough that I'd have believed it if he'd said he was her uncle instead.
But there was something I was missing.
Sia, reborn as a dragon, had red hair and red eyes.
And her grandfather had the same hair color and the same eye color.
On top of that, the strangely intense energy I could feel from him was unmistakable.
"—A dragon. Is that what you are?"
"You certainly took your time noticing. That is right. Just as you think, I am indeed a dragon."
Sia's grandfather let out a hearty laugh.
"You must have many questions. Well then, what is it you most wish to know?"
I had questions galore, but naturally, what I wanted to know most was where Sia was.
"Sia. Where is Sia right now?"
"She is below ground. Do not worry. She will come up soon. As it is, my granddaughter has been terribly worried about you."
"Phew. Thank goodness."
I let out a sigh of relief, but since I hadn't seen Sia's face with my own eyes, there was no helping that my unease hadn't completely faded.
"It seems you are worried."
"Of course I'm worried. Sia must have gotten such a fright when I collapsed......."
"It was more than a fright. She was in a panic."
"Haah. I only made her worry for nothing."
I had been getting through the training perfectly fine and then suddenly collapsed, so of course she'd been startled.
"Then, Grandfather, you—."
THUD. THUD.
Just as I was about to ask my next question, a thunderous noise suddenly began to ring out from the ground.
Thinking the cave might be collapsing, I hurriedly looked for somewhere to take cover, but Sia's grandfather just smiled calmly.
"Sasha. I know how you feel, but I told you your boyfriend still needs to rest."
THUD. THUD. THUD.
"Somehow you seem even more childish than when I last saw you two thousand years ago. Sasha. I know you are impatient, but wait a little while. I did ask you to wait a moment."
Maybe Sia really was down there; her grandfather spoke gently, as if soothing a childish granddaughter.
By the way, Sasha, huh.
He hadn't said so outright, but Sasha seemed to be the new name Sia had been given when she was reborn as a dragon.
"As you can see, my granddaughter is very worried about you."
So Sia has something to do with those heavy tremors just now?
I didn't understand this whole situation a hundred percent yet, but if her grandfather said so, it had to be true.
"I had intended to let you two meet after we had talked at leisure and you had fully recovered, but my granddaughter seems impatient, so it cannot be helped."
Her grandfather placed a hand on my head and began murmuring in a language I didn't know.
"There."
I didn't know what spell he had cast on me, or what had changed, but saying that it was done, her grandfather called for Sia.
"Sasha. You may come out now."
RUMBLE—!
All of a sudden the ground split open, and someone emerged from the crack.
It was Sia.
"Oppaaa—!"
The moment she came out of the crack, Sia ran to me at literally the speed of light and threw her arms around me.
"Oh, right. You might not be able to breathe. Oppa, are you okay? Are you awake now? How do you feel? You collapsed out of nowhere and—."
"I'm okay. I'm okay. Calm down."
Perhaps because she had been afraid something might have happened to me, Sia couldn't keep still.
I patted Sia's back and did my best to calm her down.
"You're really okay, right? Grandpa, my oppa's really okay, right?"
"As you can see, he is. He only needs a little rest."
Her grandfather gazed at Sia and me with kind eyes.
Even though we had only just met today, I could tell that he cherished Sia dearly.
"By the way, oppa, is it? Sasha, you are over two thousand five hundred years old, and the young man you call oppa is a mere twenty-five by this world's reckoning."
"Grandpaaa!"
"Ho ho."
Perhaps because he wanted to tease his granddaughter, her grandfather was playfully needling Sia.
Sia pouted and puffed out her cheeks.
'Should I tease her a little too?'
Now that Sia was two thousand five hundred years older than me, I got curious how she'd react if I called her granny.
But.
"......Oppa? What are you thinking right now?"
For some reason, I got the feeling I shouldn't.
The moment I turned my head toward Sia to tease her, I felt a sudden chill.
"N-No. Nothing. It's just, you and your grandfather seem close."
"Oh, is that all."
Thankfully, Sia didn't press any further.
"Then let's wait a bit, and as soon as you're feeling better, let's head out. Oppa. We said we'd go on a date after training. Is there anything you want to do?"
"Hmm, good question. I don't think I should push myself yet, so how about we just hang out at home today and order delivery?"
My body seemed fine, and everything seemed to have wrapped up nicely.
I thought all that was left now was to go back home and enjoy a cozy date, just the two of us.
But.
"I am sorry to cut in so suddenly, but there is one thing the two of you need to know."
Sia's grandfather, who had been quietly watching us from behind, cut in.
"The two of you are fated not to see each other."
"......Excuse me?"
For a moment, I doubted my ears.
There was no way something like that could exist.
"Grandpa, wh-what on earth do you mean...... Huh?"
"Sasha. I understand that you want to be glued to your boyfriend all day long, but if you do, the boyfriend you love will keep going through what happened today. And perhaps—."
Her grandfather, who had been looking at Sia, slowly turned his head toward me.
"He may even die."