Min-jun and Sia couldn't accept Rokan's words.
They had only just been reunited, and now they were being told they couldn't be close.
It made no sense.
What on earth could make him go so far as to declare that if they saw each other, Min-jun would 'die'?
Could he be doing it on purpose, to pull Sia away from him?
Dragon or not, Sia's grandfather or not, Min-jun decided he had to say what needed saying.
"Grandfather. I truly can't understand this. If it's that you don't approve of me... then please at least tell me so, that you don't like me because of this or that. Then I'll accept it, or fix it, or do something about it somehow."
Sia didn't stop Min-jun either. Instead, she glared at her grandfather with resentment in her eyes.
She didn't understand Rokan's words either.
"Grandpa, don't say such ridiculous things! Let's go, oppa. I'll talk to Grandpa later."
Sia spun around, took Min-jun's hand, and tried to leave the lair.
"You will regret it."
Even at that, Sia only looked back at her grandfather once, her face full of anger, then turned away again and took Min-jun's hand.
But whether or not he knew how she felt, Rokan calmly went on.
"If you leave like this, your partner will collapse again before long. The first time or two, you might manage to do something for him. After that, his condition will grow grave beyond recovery."
At the words that his condition would become too grave for anything to be done, she flinched slightly.
It's not true. It can't be.
She kept repeating that to herself as she tried to leave the lair, but Rokan didn't stop.
"And when your lover's life hangs by a thread, when no one can say whether the boy will live or die...... only then will you come back to me, Sasha, carrying your limp lover on your back. Is that the future you want?"
They were words cruel enough to sound less like advice than a curse.
No grandfather should ever say such things to his granddaughter and her lover.
But Rokan's expression was deadly serious.
He had not the slightest desire to curse his beloved granddaughter and her lover.
He had simply used a little shock therapy, hoping they would take his advice a bit more to heart.
Thankfully, perhaps because it had worked, Sia stopped in her tracks at those chilling words.
Sia looked at her grandfather with eyes gone red.
"Grandpa, be honest with me. You don't like Min-jun oppa, do you? That's why, that's why you're doing this, isn't it?"
Her hands trembled; she couldn't accept this reality.
It was because she wished Rokan's words came from nothing more than personal feelings.
If it were a problem like that, she was confident she could do whatever it took to change her grandfather's mind.
But.
Suppose what her grandfather said was true.
'Then what... happens?'
She couldn't imagine it at all. No, she didn't even want to imagine it.
Looking into his granddaughter's pleading eyes, which hurt his heart just to see, Rokan slowly went on.
"Sasha, whoever you love, your grandfather will always be on your side. You remember that? But."
Rokan paused to catch his breath, then spoke in a calm voice.
"The two of you have poor energy compatibility."
"......Energy compatibility, you said?"
Perhaps something had struck a chord; Sia's pupils trembled faintly.
An ominous premonition crept up her spine, sending a chill through her.
"It is hard to explain in detail here, but for now I shall keep it simple. Sasha, as you well know, the energy you hold is more special, and more intense, than that of other dragons. You know that yourself, do you not?"
"Th-That's a problem? Why?"
Instead of answering, Rokan silently took Sia's hand with a look of pity.
Yet she couldn't understand how that could be a problem.
And no wonder: other dragons had envied her energy, calling it a blessing.
With that special energy, they had told her, she would carve her name into a line of dragon history.
She too would know the honor of taking the seat of Dragon Lord, just like her grandfather.
Everyone had said so, and so she had thought of it as a kind of blessing from the heavens.
And yet, of all things, why that.
"How can that— No. You're saying it's incompatible with Min-jun oppa, of all people? Why... is that?"
Her eyes had lost their focus, and her voice was shaking.
"Then, because of that energy, if I... if Min-jun oppa and I stay together, Min-jun oppa is going to die... is that it."
Sia bit her lip.
If she had followed her heart, she would have screamed and wailed out loud.
No, it's not true, it can't be.
Rokan gently took Sia's hand in both of his.
"You do not want to understand it, and you cannot. But it cannot be helped."
It was probably hard for her to accept this reality.
As if he knew that feeling well, Rokan shook his head with a heavy expression.
"......A way. Is there no way? A way for me to control my energy better, or anything at all! A way for me to keep seeing oppa!"
"There is. There is, but you would have to call it close to impossible."
"Even so. Please tell me."
After hesitating a moment, Rokan finally decided to tell his granddaughter the way, for her sake.
"For your lover to fully master the power of a dragon."
"......?"
"Pardon......?"
Min-jun's and Sia's eyes went wide, and Rokan gave a bitter smile.
"For now, that is the only way."
Even Sia, who had experienced the miracle of reincarnation, thought this wasn't 'close to impossible' but an outright 'impossible' task.
Of course, seeing how Min-jun had drawn out the Dragon Bone Sword's power, he could probably reach the level of wielding a dragon's power to some degree.
But that meant wielding it only 'to some degree.' In all the history of the continent, there had never been a single human who had used a dragon's full power.
'I have to find another way.'
She didn't know what way there might be, but whatever it was, it had to be more realistic than this.
Sia resolved to find that way, by any means necessary.
When she had said she would complete dimensional transfer magic, everyone had pointed at her and called it impossible.
And yet in the end, she had pulled it off right in front of them all.
This time, too, there had to be a way.
'No, there has to be.'
Her eyes quivered.
Meanwhile.
Min-jun watched Sia, lost in anguish all on her own, with an aching heart.
Because although she hadn't said it aloud, Min-jun could read what Sia was really thinking in those eyes full of anxiety.
'She's trying to solve this on her own.'
The odds of success looked slim however you looked at it, so she was probably thinking she'd rather handle it herself.
But the moment he read what was in Sia's heart, Min-jun felt something hot welling up inside him.
'Why?'
Why is she willing to go that far?
Sia had already shouldered far too much.
For his sake, knowing he'd be grieving, she had sacrificed no less than two thousand five hundred years to come and see him.
So he had made up his mind to let her live a happy life from now on, free of every care and worry.
But contrary to Min-jun's hopes and resolve, Sia was determined to sacrifice herself yet again.
'I can't bear to watch Sia suffer.'
Realizing that sent a sharp pang through his heart.
He didn't care if the road ahead of him was a path of thorns.
It was fine, so long as happiness for Sia and him waited at the end of it.
Min-jun was more than willing to walk that path of thorns.
"Grandfather, earlier you said it was 'close to' impossible."
Reincarnation existed, and so did dimensional transfer magic; why couldn't a species be changed too?
At first he had twisted Rokan's meaning as he listened, so it had taken him a little while to understand.
But mulling Rokan's words over quietly, Min-jun judged that fully mastering a dragon's power might not be entirely impossible.
He had said 'close to impossible,' not 'impossible.'
It was just like Sia's research into dimensional transfer magic.
If there was even the slightest chance, Min-jun thought it was worth a try.
Sia had already thrown everything away for him once.
So this time, it was Min-jun's turn to show her how he felt.
"If it isn't simply nonsense, if it's only so hard that it's close to impossible...... then please just tell me the way."
Min-jun's voice rang with firm resolve.
But it was Sia who grabbed Min-jun's hand and pleaded with him instead.
"Oppa. This... isn't it. Anyone can see that's impossible. I'll just find a way myself, so—."
I've already leapt onto a path of thorns once, so I'll walk it again; you just stay by my side and quietly watch, oppa.
That was what Sia wanted to say.
But.
"Sia."
Before Sia could even finish, Min-jun pulled her into a tight hug.
"You said it yourself. You spent two thousand years researching that magic to see me. So now, leave it to me. I'll find a way."
Had Min-jun's sincerity gotten through to her?
Once again, tears began to well in Sia's eyes.
Rokan, who had been silently watching the two of them, closed his eyes for a moment, lost in thought.
"...Very well. If your will is that firm, I shall tell you the way soon."
Rokan took a ring from inside his clothes and handed it to Min-jun.
"This ring is engraved with a Teleport spell set to the coordinates of this place. Come back here in three days. I will tell you more then."
"Thank you."
He didn't know what he'd hear in three days, but even a thread of hope was better than none.
Watching Min-jun with the ring Rokan had given him, Sia looked back and forth between him and the ring, seemingly torn.
"Grandpa. Give me a ring too. The exact same one."
"Giving you one is no trouble, but Sasha. You have no need of it, do you?"
By ordinary human standards, a ring engraved with a Teleport spell might be a valuable artifact, but by a dragon's standards it was junk, nothing more and nothing less.
Giving her the same ring was no trouble for Rokan either, but he wanted to at least know why.
"Do I really...... have to say it myself?"
For some reason, Sia's face had turned as red as a beet.
"Th-Th-Thaaat......."
Sia agonized over whether she should answer or not.
Hanging her head in embarrassment, she answered in a voice so small it was barely audible.
"......Ring."
"What was that?"
"A couple ring! A couple ring! Grandpa, don't you know what couple rings are? We're a couple, so it'd look weird if only oppa wore a ring! If oppa wears one, I want to wear the same one with him, that's all! Okay?"
Her embarrassment boiling over, she said it while clutching her flushed face.
Grumbling that he'd made her spell it out like that, Sia turned her back on her grandfather.
"I hate you, Grandpa. You knew all along."
Her voice was thick with hurt.
"I truly did not know. I am sorry."
Rokan took an identical ring out of his subspace and handed it to his granddaughter.
He had said he was sorry, but inside, he had to fight hard to hold back a laugh at this new side of his granddaughter.
In any case, the moment she took the ring, she slipped it onto her ring finger.
With the ring on, she gazed contentedly at her finger.
"Oppa. Aren't you going to put yours on?"
"Oh, right."
With everything happening so fast, Min-jun hadn't even thought to put on the ring after receiving it.
Min-jun hurriedly slipped it on.
"Don't you ever take this off, oppa. Got it?"
"Mm-hm."
"I'm never taking mine off either. Promise?"
"I wouldn't take it off even if you told me to, so don't worry."
Hearing the answer she wanted, she hugged Min-jun contentedly, but soon her face clouded over.
"When will we get to see each other again?"
"Yeah. If what your grandfather said is right, it sounds like we still have some time left together, but I don't know how much."
Some time had passed, but Min-jun hadn't suddenly passed out like before.
"It is only temporary, but I have taken measures with magic. Let us see. You have exactly six hours left."
It was by no means a lot of time.
Min-jun set a timer so as not to waste even a single minute with Sia.
"Grandpa, then after six hours...... we can never see each other again, not until this problem is solved?"
Sia asked her grandfather, her face gloomy.
After everything it took to meet again, if they were only given six hours, nothing could be more unfair.
"I seem to have given you room to misunderstand."
At the mention of a misunderstanding, both their faces slowly began to light up.
"It is not that you can never meet at all. If my guess is right, you should still be able to see each other for about three hours a week."
"!!!"
They had thought they wouldn't be able to meet at all until the problem was solved, but that wasn't the case.
Three hours a week.
It was terribly short, but it was still better than nothing.
"Grandpa, then......."
"No."
"You don't even know what I was going to say."
"I could hardly not know. There is a reason I called it a temporary measure. This magic takes a great deal of strength, even for me. You were thinking I could keep extending your time like this, but unfortunately, I cannot."
Even her grandfather, an ancient dragon who could be said to have reached the pinnacle of magic and a former Dragon Lord, said this magic took a lot out of him.
Deflated again, Sia hung her head.
Today was the only day the two of them would be granted a stretch as long as six hours.
"Depending on how hard you work, that time may increase. And if, as I said, you work yourself half to death, there may be no limit on your meetings at all."
Rokan faced Min-jun and looked him straight in the eye.
A mere human, freely using the power of a dragon, a being so great no human could compare.
What mindset must one hold to pursue a goal so close to impossible?
Min-jun's eyes were full of resolve.
"I'll give it everything, ready to die trying."
"Good. That mindset will do."
Rokan nodded, satisfied.
"Let us save what we could not discuss today for next time."
Right now, every second must be precious to them.
Explaining their situation and its solution to the two of them in more detail would take several more hours.
So Rokan decided to wrap up the complicated talk here for now.
He wanted to give this devoted couple, who had met again across dimensions and across a whole lifetime, some time of their own.
Right now, every second counted for the two of them.
"I shall make myself scarce. Sasha, when the promised time is up, come to your grandfather."
"Yeees!"
With that last word, Rokan cast a Teleport spell and vanished on the spot.
Now only Sia and Min-jun remained in the vast lair.
Both of them had a lot they wanted to say.
They had to work out how to get through this new crisis, and how they could hold on to a future together.
Talking all of that through, long and serious as it was, would probably take days, not six hours.
But they had no intention of having those talks right now.
"Oppa. Isn't there anywhere you want to go?"
For the six hours they had left, they intended to spend their time on a date, like any ordinary couple.