Chapter 72
Chapter 72
Minjun had always understood that loving someone from an entirely different species naturally invited difficulties.
After all, his own romance had navigated constant hurdles from the very beginning.
Yet listening to the folk gathered around him, it seemed that in this realm, romantic affection between two distinct races was viewed not merely as a minor trouble, but as an almost insurmountable barrier.
It was hardly as if a person were attempting to court a beast. Both dragons and mortals were sentient creatures gifted with advanced intellect.
Was it genuinely so bewildering for them to feel romance toward one another?
Besides, it was common knowledge that dragons often wandered among other folk while concealing their true forms, masquerading as elves, humans, or various other races during their worldly diversions.
‘If that’s true, why would my bond with Sia be considered abnormal?’
Since neither Sia nor Rokan had ever delved into the particulars, Minjun had simply assumed that his bond with Sia was not particularly unnatural.
Yet the sheer apprehension radiating from the locals began stoking an anxious knot in his chest.
“When you mentioned that keeping up a typical romance becomes nearly impossible once a dragon’s true identity comes to light, what did you actually mean?”
“I meant precisely that. No other species, humans included, can truly share love with a dragon.”
Langs, the fox beastfolk who had playfully jabbed at Kutun a moment before, stepped in to clarify in an even, measured tone.
“As long as the secret remains safe, a dragon can happily play the part of a mortal lover. But those majestic beings utterly despise having their disguise pierced while indulging in their excursions. The moment their nature is exposed, they break off all ties, pack up their little games, and retreat straight back to their lairs.”
“Since your partner was originally human in her former life, her perspective might differ somewhat. Even so, it doesn’t change the reality that an ordinary, everyday romance remains entirely out of reach for you two.”
Kutun offered Minjun a glance dripping with sympathy.
“That is simply how things work, as far as I understand. In dragon society, to be acknowledged as a genuine companion, both parties must forge a binding oath—and that particular bond can solely be struck between dragons.”
Kutun further mentioned that without such a bond, a lighthearted companionship might linger, but nurturing it into something truly profound was out of the question.
Minjun paused, desperately grasping for any glimmer of optimism.
“Even if we never forge that bond, wouldn’t it still be possible for us to share a peaceful life together?”
Kutun wished he could offer soothing words, yet he refused to sugarcoat the truth.
“Perhaps, provided no other dragons dwell within your realm. Our grasp of the Great Ones’ inner workings is far too limited to offer any guarantees.”
Minjun felt his spirits plunge instantly.
Saying matters might stay peaceful without other dragons around was merely a polite way of warning that presence of their kin would guarantee trouble.
‘Could there truly be other dragons roaming Earth aside from Sia and Rokan?’
According to everything Minjun had gathered, dragons took meticulous care to mask their presence when visiting mortal lands, making them virtually impossible to track down.
‘Even so, with how vast the world is, it’s very likely a few have already carved out lives there.’
His thoughts immediately drifted to Lia Black, the woman who had boldly attempted to lure him not so long ago.
An SSS-rank Hunter who had arrived unannounced from the United States purely to seek him out, only to immediately shower him with an unnaturally brazen display of flirtation.
Weighing the clues, Minjun strongly suspected she was actually a disguised dragon.
If that assumption held water, then other dragons walking upon Earth was far from an impossibility.
‘Supposing that’s true, and assuming those dragons have already caught wind of our romance…’
Minjun began tallying up every disastrous outcome that might stem from that reality.
The more he pondered, the bleaker his mood turned.
If the locals’ warnings held any weight, outside dragons could very well barge in and disrupt his life with Sia whenever they pleased.
Even worse, Sia might currently be weathering severe backlash and scorn from her own kind simply for loving him.
Tragically, most of Minjun’s grim assessments struck close to the truth.
Though Minjun kept his silence and merely sat there with a heavy, troubled gaze, Langs, Kutun, and the surrounding patrons could easily piece together his inner torment.
‘The poor guy is carrying quite a burden.’
Langs cast a gaze full of heartfelt compassion toward him.
Hearing such grim truths without a drop of alcohol felt unbearable, prompting Minjun to swiftly empty his drink in one heavy gulp.
“To be completely frank, there is another harsh reality I could mention, though you might be better off leaving it unsaid.”
“No. Tell me everything.”
“…Are you certain you won’t come to regret hearing it?”
“I’m certain.”
The blows had already landed.
Minjun figured that adding another bitter pill could hardly make his situation any more painful.
He could not have been more mistaken.
“You and your lady will almost certainly never bear a child together.”
“W-What did you just say?”
In all honesty, given everything shared so far, it was a conclusion he might have pieced together himself.
Yet dreading a possibility and hearing someone state it plainly were two vastly different burdens.
“Your very natures are completely mismatched from the start. How could reproduction even occur? Regardless of circumstances, no offspring will ever come from your union.”
Perhaps he truly should have declined the warning.
Minjun’s chest heaved as the cruel weight of the revelation settled in.
“Minjun, are you hanging in there?”
“Look what you did! Why did you have to open your big mouth?”
“You could have kept that to yourself for another day! Why blurt it out right now, of all times?”
“He practically begged for it! Taking the blow now is far better than letting it fester. The man would have learned the truth eventually!”
“Rubbish, this entire mess began because you started rambling on about conventional romances and useless nonsense!”
With the tavern’s atmosphere plummeting into chaos, Langs and Kutun began snapping at each other, while Minjun merely raised a shaky hand, forcing a weary expression to signal he was fine.
Deep down, he recognized the singular remedy that could undo all these dilemmas.
If he achieved his ultimate aim of transcending into a dragon, the inability to produce an heir and the refusal of the dragon community to accept their romance would evaporate entirely.
That singular ambition was why he had pushed himself to the brink every waking moment, and had he not already attained astonishing milestones within an extraordinarily short window?
Yet even with that reassurance, hearing such unyielding barriers still stung sharply.
“I believe I’ll step out to clear my thoughts.”
“By all means. Elysium boasts a breathtaking night sky, so take all the time you need admiring it until your head clears up. We’ll still be drinking until the morning sun rises!”
Kutun deliberately elevated his voice in a boisterous effort to dispel the gloom, while Langs softly touched Minjun’s shoulder in quiet encouragement.
Too drained to dwell on their well-meaning gestures, Minjun drifted out into the cool air, thoroughly dazed.
Long after his departure, the tavern continued to buzz with whispers revolving around the young man’s predicament.
Stepping into the crisp night, I walked a short distance and slumped onto a wooden bench, turning my gaze upward toward the heavens.
Just as they had promised, the celestial expanse above was truly magnificent, yet my thoughts were so hopelessly tangled that its beauty barely registered.
“Sia braved all of that just to reach my side…”
Knowing full well that our bond would earn nothing but disdain from her peers, she had spent two millennia stubbornly mastering dimensional transit magic simply to reach Earth.
Her eyes had stayed fixed entirely on me through all those long years.
A wave of profound gratitude washed over me, immediately followed by an agonizing, breathless ache deep in my chest.
How utterly shattered would she be upon discovering I had been swallowed by an anomaly?
The thought of Sia dissolving into tears made my heart constrict almost painfully.
“How do I even begin finding my way back?”
Right at the heart of this enigmatic realm of Elysium stood a grand dragon monument, radiating an aura far beyond ordinary stonework.
There was simply no chance that effigy had drawn me into this place on a mere whim.
Of that, I was thoroughly convinced.
‘The least that monument could have done was ask my permission before dragging me along.’
Releasing an exhausted breath, I gazed across the distance toward Bellium’s stone effigy.
Illuminated by the radiant glow of the full moon, its imposing silhouette stood out with striking clarity against the darkness.
With the hour so advanced, any thorough investigation would have to wait until tomorrow morning.
Helpless to change anything tonight, my immediate priority was merely to soothe my frazzled composure.
Out of sheer muscle memory, I reached into my pocket and fished out my phone.
As expected of an alien realm, the display showed an absolute void of reception.
Naturally, I hadn’t pulled it out expecting to make a call.
Instead, I navigated to the photo album, quietly scrolling through the snapshots captured alongside Sia.
I prayed that the sight of her smile might bring a sliver of peace to my frayed nerves.
While the device was already in my hand, I figured I might as well snap an image of the evening sky above.
Once I managed to return to Earth and reunite with Sia, I could show her a piece of the firmament belonging to the realm she had once called home.
Having captured the night expanse, I returned to admiring Sia’s face until the sound of approaching footsteps broke the silence.
Lifting my gaze, I spotted Estelle approaching, her arms laden with an assortment of food.
“Sir Minjun, would it be alright if I joined you?”
“Of course. But what brought you out here…?”
“I didn’t want you wandering off and getting turned around. Plus, you seemed deeply troubled inside… I thought perhaps offering an ear or keeping you company might ease your burden, even just a tiny bit.”
Her sincere kindness took some of the sting out of my exhaustion.
“And I thought sharing a bite might do some good. You barely touched your plate earlier, so you must be running on empty. Go ahead, take this.”
Estelle extended a wicker basket slung over her arm toward me.
Inside rested grilled sausages, warm rolls, and a variety of freshly roasted skewers.
“I appreciate this, truly.”
“You don’t have to thank me at all. If anyone owes gratitude, it’s every single one of us here. Without your intervention, I dread to think how many lives would have been snuffed out today…”
“You’re giving me far more praise than I deserve.”
“Not in the least. You accomplished something truly extraordinary.”
Estelle offered a gentle grin, taking a skewer from her remaining hand and taking a crisp bite.
“I can hardly fathom how dizzying your circumstances must feel right now, Sir Minjun, but food comes first and brooding comes second. Just empty your thoughts for a brief spell. What do you say?”
She gave a warm grin while chewing comfortably.
Taking her cue, I selected the most succulent skewer from the basket and bit into it.
As I chewed quietly, letting my mind go blank just as she suggested, an odd thought suddenly struck me.
“Estelle, aren’t elves generally known to… abstain from meat entirely?”
Sia had explicitly mentioned that elves viewed flesh-eating as an absolute sacrilege, subsisting exclusively on plant life, yet the skewer Estelle was happily consuming was entirely made of various meats.
“Ah, you mean this? That’s quite accurate. Traditional elves adhere strictly to plant-based meals. I adhered to that lifestyle as well, until a stray taste of cooked meat proved to be an absolute revelation.”
“Then… how did your clan react?”
“The instant my kin caught me indulging, absolute chaos broke out, and they hauled me straight before the grand elder. Normally, such an offense brings severe consequences, but thankfully they settled on mere exile. Following endless wandering, I ultimately carved out a place here in Elysium.”
Though she shared the memory with lighthearted ease, the sheer misery of those trials was not hard to imagine.
Reflecting on it, Bellium had founded Elysium precisely as a haven for the forsaken.
I had assumed Estelle was born and raised here, yet she clearly carried her own scars.
Hearing her ordeal granted me an odd sense of solace, yet it also stirred a twinge of sorrow, making me wonder what painful pasts lay buried beneath the boisterous laughter of this city’s inhabitants.
In that brief moment, the image of Estelle and her townsfolk mirrored Sia’s own isolation.
Every one of them was an outsider, ostracized and cast aside by the world, or the offspring of those who were.
Reframing them in that light made our perceived differences shrink considerably.
Having concluded her tale, Estelle clearly wished to prevent the mood from turning mournful again. With a playful chuckle, she remarked that Elysium was far more of a true home to her anyway, taking another joyful bite from her treat.
“By the way, Sir Minjun, what were you occupied with a moment ago? You appeared to be handling an unfamiliar contraption.”
“Oh, you mean this?”
I pulled the gadget from my jacket to present it to her.
“It’s known as a smartphone. It’s a completely commonplace device back in my realm…”
I positioned the screen so she could view it, offering a brief summary of its capabilities.
“Incredible. I don’t sense a trace of magic radiating from it, yet it handles speech across distances, displays animated scenes, and executes… all those feats within such a tiny frame.”
“Indeed. It even captures visual memories. As a matter of fact, let me show you.”
Flipping open the digital album, I brought up a picture taken alongside Sia.
“Is this the lady you spoke of, Sir Minjun?”
“Yes. She’s remarkably breathtaking, don’t you think?”
“Calling her breathtaking hardly does her justice.”
Estelle’s genuine admiration made me eager to praise Sia even further.
Perhaps the lingering spirits had loosened my lips, or perhaps the ache in my chest simply made me crave speaking about her.
“Actually, there’s another keepsake stored right beneath the cover.”
I presented the small instant portrait of Sia and myself nestled securely behind the protective casing.
Captivated by the alien artifact, Estelle scrutinized the tiny print with wide-eyed wonder.
“The devotion between you two shines through the way you look at one another.”
“Undoubtedly. We are utterly inseparable. Which is precisely why I must uncover a path back, no matter the cost.”
Fixating on Sia’s image and speaking her name only stoked the fire to return to Earth.
“Is there really… no feasible method?”
“It will likely prove extremely daunting. Just as you mentioned when discussing your companion, traversing the dimensional divide is such a monumental feat that even an apex dragon required two millennia to master its secrets.”
I had cast the inquiry out of lingering hope, yet the miracle I sought failed to materialize.
Seeing the shadow fall over my countenance once more, Estelle hurried to lift my spirits.
“Even so, whatever assistance our settlement can muster is entirely yours! You are our honored guest and savior!”
“Your kindness alone means a great deal.”
It was evident that the skirmish earlier had won me considerable favor among these people.
“If that’s true, I’d like to inspect that monument thoroughly once morning comes. Could you assist me with that?”
An inner intuition urged me that unraveling the secrets of that dragon figure might unlock my journey home.
“Without question! I’ll speak directly with Adil on your behalf! He oversees the monument’s upkeep.”
Estelle agreed without an ounce of hesitation.
“Furthermore, Adil is a scholar thoroughly versed in every chapter of Elysium’s lore, so his guidance will prove invaluable.”
“That provides some relief.”
“If you don’t mind me asking, Sir Minjun, what draws your interest to the monument specifically?”
Tossing the bare skewer aside, Estelle lifted a fresh one from the basket before asking.
“I carry a gut feeling that studying that stone might yield a path leading home. I cannot explain the mechanism, but I sense some underlying thread connecting that effigy to myself. Though what ties us together remains a total mystery.”
“What leads you to that conclusion?”
I could see how bizarre my reasoning must have sounded from her perspective.
The settlement’s architect had been a wyrm, I possessed a fragment of draconic power, and my lover belonged to dragonkind.
Those scattered traits were hardly concrete proof of a genuine tie to the effigy.
“You caught a glimpse of it during the clash earlier, didn’t you? A slender, shimmering ribbon resembling Aura stretched directly between myself and the carving.”
Estelle tilted her head to the side, wearing an expression of absolute bewilderment.
“Aura?”
“Indeed. While the wyverns attacked. You truly didn’t catch it? It was remarkably slender, yet radiant enough that it should have caught anyone’s eye.”
“…Was such a thing truly present? I didn’t see anything at all.”
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