episode_0005

*****

From what I received, my housemate said that work would end soon. In the meantime, I was able to get a rough sense of how to move my body, but the use of magical energy seemed to be completely blocked and there was no progress at all.

It’s strange, it shouldn’t have worked out this way. In particular, if what the president of the association said is correct, this body is a transformed dragon body. It wouldn’t be surprising if it was handled better originally.

“My entire body has changed, so it will be difficult right now. Rather, I find it surprising that I can already move that much. It will be completely different from your old body.”

“I’m confident in moving my body.”

I applied the trick to counteract the magic that distorts the senses, and it worked better than I expected. Although detailed movements may be difficult, hitting and receiving is possible right now. … If only I had the horsepower.

Plus, for some reason, I didn’t feel a strange sense of discomfort in my current body. Just like when I first opened my eyes, I still move naturally, considering this body as my own.

I heard it stayed like this for about a year after it came out of the egg. Could it be that it was engraved unconsciously? The doctor nodded at my guess as if it was a possibility.

“Of course, the bodies of higher-level monsters change depending on their minds. If you think about it that way, it’s natural that you don’t feel any discomfort. The body may have been adjusted in that way──”

“Wait a minute, it’s my body, so why am I talking about monsters?”

“Yes? ah… . Well, you heard from the president of the association, right? Mr. Hamin came from a dragon’s egg. Maybe that’s why Mr. Ha-min’s body has a few human components… In fact, it is quite different.”

Numerous hypotheses have been poured out about what kind of being the girl who came out of the dragon’s egg is, and as a result, it seems that almost all investigations that can be done within humane scope have been completed. Because of my testimony, most of the hypotheses were discarded, but the results of the research so far remain intact.

hmm. Is the composition of the body itself different from that of humans? When I touch it, it doesn’t seem to be any different from an ordinary person.

Of course, it’s a bit smaller than my original body, white, and all that… Although soft. Anyway, it’s impossible to see it as anything other than a person. Except for the horns on the head.

“How different are you from ordinary people?”

“The structure itself is surprisingly similar to that of a human. Almost everything, from the skin and blood vessels to the organs within the body. If you listen to the conversation with the president of the association earlier, even if you reconstructed the dragon’s body, there would have been no way to include human DNA, but it is truly amazing and is now becoming a hot topic among researchers. The hottest debate right now is whether the human soul itself contains DNA or whether DNA is the medium through which the information of the human soul is output. I think it is—─”

“Doctor, doctor?”

“Yes? … Hot, sorry. It was about how different it was. Well, the skeleton is about 5%, the skin is 3%… , the internal system would have been around 12%. The internal organs also show quite a bit of difference in each individual, but the largest percentage is in the brain──”

“Summary!”

“The difference will be approximately 7% on average. However, this ingredient is an element that reacts to magical power, so in real life there will be virtually no difference from humans. When the horsepower flow rate increases, more research is still needed… . Oh, that figure excludes the horns. Horns have not been investigated yet. I know it’s an organ related to magical power, but surprisingly, it’s an organ connected to the cranial nerves, so it’s difficult to investigate it carelessly──”

I can’t do it, I can’t stop the doctor from falling into Samcheonpo.

In the past, when I was often interested in my body—in a purely scientific sense—there was a lot of talk, but I don’t think it was to this extent. It seems that human awakeners and humans (containing 7% dragons) have different units of interest.

Or, it may be the difference between how I looked before and how I look now. I don’t want to think about it too much because it makes me sad. Because my original appearance is quite rough.

“Well, what is it? Have you heard anything about potential?”

“As for the horn, the currently proposed hypothesis is that it is a magical receiving organ and——Huh? Oh, potential? There are no clear results yet. Still, we have some things in mind and we are continuing to monitor, so we will be able to find meaningful results soon.”

That’s at least good news. I have to regain my strength first before I can find a way to return to being a man.

“Really, even if everything is good because I came back from the dead, why do I have to live like this?”

“Really, I told you this before, right? The gender of the dragon is presumed to be female. It’s probably that effect.”

The body I entered was a female body from the beginning. If that’s the case, I definitely agree. I can’t understand it though.

There was no such content in the original! Well, there’s no need to write down the gender of monster dragons that only appear in past settings! How do you distinguish between male and female dragons in the first place?

“Ah, the guardian is coming soon. Please wait here for a moment.”

“Guardian?”

“The records say they are family. You’ll know who it is when you see it.”

That’s what the association president was talking about earlier about living together. I just nodded that I roughly understood.

There was no way they were a real family. Because my family in this life all left early in my previous life. Already 20 years… , No, even though nearly 27 years have passed, it’s a memory that makes me depressed when I think about it, so I don’t think about it too much except when I’m drinking.

While shaking off the unpleasant memories, the Doctor went out, saying he would bring a guardian. Guardian, who on earth is this? I don’t think he’s a doctor. Sadly, because my circle of friends is not that wide, there are only a few candidates.

First of all, the most likely one is Lee Chang-hyuk──my best friend with whom I have been close ever since I was awakened as an awakened person.

If nothing had happened, I would have occupied a position in the association by now, so there would be no problem in finding out about my condition. Even if my identity is a secret, the president of the association knows that I won’t hide it from Changhyuk.

However, it took a meaningful laugh from the president of the association to think simply. That thing is clearly plotting something. Changhyuk is a serious guy in many ways, so he wouldn’t be able to pull off unusual pranks.

If I am someone who would be difficult to hang out with, well. … Could it be Junseok?

No, no, that wouldn’t be possible unless the president of the association went crazy. Rather, Junseok is one of the people I most need to hide from my current state. If they see me the way I am right now, they will kill me or kill me right before that. Anyway, it probably isn’t him.

… No, Chairman? Can I trust you?

Weeing!

“Kek!?”

The door opened at such good timing that I was startled. The person standing on the other side of the door was not Junseok, whom I was worried about just a moment ago.

A petite figure with purple hair pulled back into pigtails. The supporter who worked with me on the last operation before this happened──Ju Sia was looking at me. It wasn’t the usual sly smile, but rather a mesmerized expression.

“Senior… , eh?”

“Surprise, it was Sia. Well, that old man was laughing ominously. I was scared for no reason. … Oh, what? Wait, is it Sia?”

With an expression that I couldn’t tell if she was stiff or dazed, Sia slinked up to me.

It’s not like I’m using any magic power at all. I felt a mysterious pressure as Sia approached me, staring at me with empty eyes.

… To be honest, I was a little scared.

“Are you really a senior?”

“M, what, are you doubting it too?”

Awakened people age slowly. Of course, Sia wasn’t much different from what I remembered, but the current Sia somehow felt unfamiliar.

After thinking about the reason for a moment, I was able to find the answer without difficulty. It’s a gaze. Sia’s face, which had previously been completely looking down, was in a position where she had to slightly raise her head as she got closer.

It was just that, and it was incredibly awkward.

“… You’ve gotten smaller.”

“Well, what is it, how did it happen? Let’s sit down for a bit. It’s strange that I’m standing there for no reason.”

If you keep your distance, you won’t have to worry about anything strange. When he went to the prepared table and sat down, the man’s pride, which had been pricked, improved a little.

While I was sighing in relief, Sia was looking at me intently. Even though about 5 minutes had already passed, Sia didn’t say anything.

Well, Sia wasn’t like this. I like being sarcastic, dissing others, and criticizing others… . Ah, it’s just my behavior that’s the problem.

“Ma, you’ve grown a lot.”

“The height is the same.”

“Okay… .”

Of conversation! Play catch! Give and receive!

No matter what I said, I only came back with a short answer, so in the end I couldn’t say anything else and just stayed silent.

No, it’s true that I like attention, right? I’m not bragging, but I have few friends, whether in my past life or my current life. It is impossible to casually ignore such a staring gaze.

And for some reason, I even felt a hint of magical power stirring. In the end, I couldn’t hold on and turned my gaze to the side—oh, somehow, I feel like I’ve seen something similar before… ?

“Foot! Ahaha, senior, you still haven’t gotten over that habit?”

When I turned my head back to the correct position, there was Sia smiling brightly. … hey!!!

“You, you! Hey, by my standards, I only saw it yesterday, but you said it’s been 7 years! But as soon as I saw it, I saw this… ! I said I was sorry for eating the macaron back then, so I told you not to do something like this again!”

“Cook, I’m sorry. Ah, hehehe, wait a minute. Please hold back your laughter.”

Sia giggled for a while like that. I felt my face turn bright red, and when Sia saw that, she burst out laughing even more.

It looks like Sia did her own test. At this point, no matter how kind and gentle the country is, people are bound to get angry.

“Hey, is it fun?”

“Yes, it’s really fun. Senior bitch~.”

… It’s too much, really. Well, ever since then, I have never defeated Sia.

“Ah~, I laughed for a while. No, I’m sorry, senior. I was also instructed to first test whether the senior was really a senior. But, apart from his combat skills, he is a corpse, right? So at this point, I can’t really think of how to test it. Anyway, if you bring up the old story, your senior will say he doesn’t know.”

“Hey! No matter how limited my friendships are, I still have a few things to say about the partners I used to work with──”

“Senior, do you remember what the first case you took on with me was?”

“─I don’t know, sorry!”

To make an excuse, I tend to change supporters quite often even after the stable period due to my intense work. So when I first saw Sia, I thought she would quit soon and didn’t pay much attention to her.

After about three months, I thought, wow, he was still holding on, so I treated him like a proper supporter.

“I’ve been a supporter for my senior for almost 3 years? It is by far the longest record among the senior’s supporters. Isn’t it so crazy that you even forgot about the first case you solved with your soulmate?”

“How many cases have you solved so far, but do you remember them all? .”

I feel so sorry for myself as I become increasingly weak when it comes to human relationships. Although it is self-employed.

“Are you okay? Looking at the current situation, it seems like you are living with me. You know what it means to live with a man, right?”

Still, being treated like this every time is not what I want. Coincidentally, there was a perfect subject matter, so I gave it an accent on living together as if teasing me.

Sia, I’m weak at sex drips like this. I played around with him a few times in the past, but his expression turned sour that I stopped. Even if you lose in the end, if you look at the process, there’s nothing you can’t make fun of.

Look, even now his expression is hardening—huh?

“Senior, are you saying that’s a joke?”

Laughing, it wasn’t even possible. Sia’s gaze seems to be looking at something pitiful.

Of course, it’s a joke that doesn’t quite qualify as a sex drip… . what? Aren’t you weak in these types of stories? ?

“Senior, although I look the same on the outside, it’s been 7 years since you disappeared, right? How old am I now? Even if you compare it to your old senior, there isn’t much of a difference anymore.”

Oh, that’s how it goes. What was the age difference between him and me?

As I was hurriedly typing away at the calculator in my head, Sia added more words.

“Besides, even if you live together with your current senior, nothing will happen, right? Senior, have you forgotten who you are now? Even if they tried to attack, they wouldn’t have the means to attack.”

Numbers, means… . Sia’s gaze was directed toward the center of the table with a sly smile. And beyond that… . … I unconsciously covered my crotch with both hands.

what! He wasn’t this kind of kid! No, even though she was like this, she was weak at this topic! What happened in 7 years!

“Ahaha! Senpai, you’ve become really cute. Ah, my face turned red again.”

“Noisy, constantly calling men cute… .”

“But is it true?”

It seems that the past seven years have blown away what little chance I had of winning. Will the day when I can defeat Sia with words never come again?

“It’s been a while since I made fun of my senior, so let’s dive into work. Now, this is my senior’s profile. Please read through.”

Sia took out some documents from the bag she had brought and handed them to me. It is literally a profile, with a photo attached to the upper right corner of the document and personal information written below it.

“Ami Kim, female, 17 years old. … Ami Kim?”

“Changhyuk put it on himself. I’m not sure where it comes from.”

“Can’t we just keep using Kim Ha-min?”

“I don’t think it matters, it’s a common name. Please make a suggestion to Mr. Changhyuk. More than that, congratulations, you really turned seventeen after singing that song.”

“Silver.”

Come to think of it, there were times like that. Ha-min is seventeen! When I think about it, I remember Sia’s expression of extreme disgust. Now it’s no longer a joke.

The only family relationship listed on the document was Joo Shia (姉). Well, if you really want to be specific, this guy is also a case of losing his family during the great chaos… . But is it okay for family members to have different last names?

I was curious about that and asked about it, and I was told that it is common these days for siblings to have different last names. There are some special cases, such as succession issues in corporate groups, but the most common is when adopting an orphan during times of great turmoil and not wanting the orphan to change his or her last name. Because so many people died during the period of great chaos, it is said that these days, it is acceptable for sisters and brothers to have different last names.

“Registration as an awakened person is by Lee Hyeong-gye. Is this okay?”

“Anyway, my senior’s abilities were in the field of physical strengthening. People with heterogeneous abilities often have strong physical abilities, so it doesn’t matter, right?”

In addition, minor settings were written in the document. To put this all together, I am a 17-year-old blonde girl who lost her parents during the great chaos, was raised by a hero, and suddenly became an awakener one day. … Am I the heroine of a cartoon?

“Still, Minjeong’s age would have been over 30, so it would be a bit much to write him as 17, right? Right?”

“It would have been great if you had thought of that 7 years ago. If you’ve seen everything, let’s go quickly. I also want to get off work now.”

“Then.”

Now that I have said what I have to say, I leave the room with Sia. Even though I was just following Sia around, I was able to quickly figure out where this was. It’s in the basement of the medical center, here.

It didn’t take long to get out. Although it felt like only a day, in reality, it was my first time breathing outside air in 7 years. Yes, it didn’t feel like anything at all.

To be honest, it still doesn’t feel like 7 years have passed. Is it because the people I’ve met so far haven’t changed much except for the president of the association? The president of the association hasn’t changed much other than his gray hair and wrinkles. I didn’t notice any difference in the medical center building seen from the outside.

… Really, 7 years have passed since then?

“Now, Tayo senior.”

As empty as the sentiment was, the ride to Sia’s house was quick. If you have the time, you can just walk.

Well, considering that the medical center is near the Hero Association, it would be strange that it took so long. What’s so bad about being an S-class hero that he lives far away from work? That is, unless you are dispatched.

“I like you, I buy it. … What, why do you look like that?”

It was a fairly wealthy apartment in Seoul, so I expressed my honest impressions, but Sia’s expression turned strange. I really meant to simply compliment you.

“No, I was so moved to hear that it was a nice house for someone who had bought and lived in a large penthouse with public funds from the Hero Association… .”

“Ah─, ah─!!! Okay, just tell me my room!”

Say something that others will misunderstand!

In my defense, I did not build my personal house with public money. The hero training facility was built with public funds, and my living space was built on the rooftop with my own money. Because it was a hassle to go back and forth to use the training facility.

“So, what happened to my house?”

“Nothing special. It is being used as a training tool for heroes. Oh, my senior’s house was set up like a tourist attraction. No one is going now though.”

… No one is going. Well, I don’t remember leaving anything interesting in the house. Since it is an ordinary house, I think they thought of turning it into a tourist attraction.

Even though it’s my old house that I can’t even go to. My room was across from Sia’s room. I wanted a room far away, but I couldn’t help it since it was said to have a formal meaning of surveillance.

“What’s in that room over there?”

“Study and LP. Would you like to take a look?”

Judging by his calm answer, it didn’t seem like there was anything interesting going on. It’s annoying, so I’ll have to look at that next time.

“I roughly put the clothes in the closet, so check them out later. You must have just woken up and are tired. Would you like to take a break?

“ung. Thank you.”

Sia left and dived into the bed with white pillows and blankets. Oh, it’s soft. This is okay.

I quietly laid down on the bed and blankly cleared my head. Maybe it’s because so much information comes in during the day, but it feels like my mind has given up on thinking any more.

My body changed, and 7 years passed. Since the funeral was held publicly, it was as if he was truly dead in social terms. Although I plan to tell my close friends, I think I can count those people on one hand.

In a sense, it was a restart of my life, but funny enough, this wasn’t the first time I restarted my life. Would it be an exaggeration to say that I feel strangely nostalgic?

The first life and the second life were very different. I, who was wasting every day in the corner of my room, literally became a hero who saved the country. Although it was thanks to making a wish to God, it was clear that it was a rewarding life.

Is that why? Now that I have achieved enough, should I start a new life?

Or is all of this simply my failure and nothing to do with God’s will?

… Nothing is set in stone. I just keep trying to fulfill my current wish to continue being a hero.

For that… .

*****