How Is This A D-grade? (1)

“Yong-aah, yong-aaah…!”

Yong-aahh, yong-aah, yong-aaahhh!!!

Ju Na-young was literally in a panic.

For the first time in a while, the red tuft of hair on her head was swaying wildly.

With a flushed face, Ju Na-young kept repeating, ‘Yong-aaah!’

How did it come to Yu Seha saying, “Wanna have some ramen today?”

To understand that, we need to go back about 10 minutes.

‘Yong-hehe…’

Ju Na-young was simply happy with Yu Seha’s touch.

She felt as if she was floating.

Wouldn’t this be what it’s like to lie on a cloud?

‘Th-this is…’

Love…

She had such an embarrassing thought run through her mind.
Ju Na-young realized once again.
How much she liked Yu Seha…
Loved him…
Dreamed of a future with him.

‘…Yong-hehe…’

It was when she was so happy…

Ju Na-young felt a slight pain.
It wasn’t physical pain.
It was mental, inner pain.

She turned her gaze with a slightly annoyed face.

Before she knew it, she was inside what she called the <Dragon’s Power>.

“…What? Why?! What?!!”
“Yong-ahh…!”

In front of her, the ‘Crimson Dragon,’ reduced to the size of a large dog, was looking at Ju Na-young with a dissatisfied expression.

The reason she felt pain was because this darn red lizard had hit her with its tail.

As an aside, the reason it became so adorably small was due to Ju Na-young’s will.

‘It’s too big to look up at.’

Recently, Ju Na-young had mastered her own technique(?) through meditation.

Even though it was a large creature, it caused such a ruckus that it was quite burdensome, but now that it was smaller, it was a bit more manageable.

Ju Na-young stared blankly.

The ‘Crimson Dragon,’ licking its characteristic red scales with its tongue, tilted its head.

“Yong-ah?”
“Looking at you like this, you kind of resemble me, don’t you think?”
“…Yong-ah?”
“No way. I’m not as ugly as you. You overweight lizard that can’t even spread its wings.”
“…Yong-ah!!”
“Oh, shut up! Yong-ah is my specialty, you cheap imitation of me!”
“Yong-ah!”
“Yong-ah!”

Ju Na-young was having a fight with herself.

This was how it always was these days.

Ever since she had fully awakened the <Dragon’s Power>, internal conflicts had become frequent for her.

However, the ‘Crimson Dragon’ didn’t operate independently with its own will and identity separate from Ju Na-young.

Ju Na-young knew this well.
That was her.
It was her power and herself.

Just…

“You, you ugly thing!”
“Yong-ah!”

It was merely an ego phenomenon where their oversized identities clashed.

Squeeze!

“Yong-ah?”

Ju Na-young’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Yu Seha pulling her cheek.

Yu Seha, with a slightly disapproving face, kneaded her cheek as if it were dough.

Rub, rub.
Stretch, stretch!
Fiddle, fiddle.

“Yong-Yong-ah…”
“Ju Na-young.”
“Yeah?”
“Have you lost weight recently?”
“…!?”

Ju Na-young flinched.
H-how did he know?
In fact, she had recently started dieting.

Of course, she had mentioned it during the <Mandatory Training> period.
Ju Na-young always maintained a proper weight and took care of herself.
So, she wasn’t particularly overweight or chubby.
In fact, with her clearly defined abs, she was a proper muscular beauty.
Therefore, there was no real need for her to start a diet.

This was just…

‘……’

For the guy she liked…
It was merely an act of the heart to make a good impression.

At the same time, there was a sense of wariness towards a rival(?).

‘Moon Bora.’

Ju Na-young thought.
To be honest, Moon Bora was like a cheat.
Even as a woman, she couldn’t understand it at all.

‘No matter how much I think about it, it doesn’t make sense.’

Despite having such a voluptuous, big, dynamite, seductive figure, she was incredibly slim.

It was questionable if all the nutrients she consumed were stored in her magical pouch on the front and hips.

If Moon Bora had heard this, she would have been outraged, saying, ‘Th-that’s sexual harassment!’ But Ju Na-young thought nothing of it.

She puffed her cheeks.

‘I don’t want to lose to her.’

Yes, she didn’t want to lose.

These feelings accumulated, leading to the rather hard task of dieting.

“Well, I just… need to make my body a bit lighter… It’s good for training too…”
“You’ll collapse if you keep that up.”

Yu Seha spoke with a serious face.

Saying that sleep and meals are very important, and if supply isn’t smooth anywhere, annihilation would follow.

Despite usually disliking such nagging, Ju Na-young couldn’t hide her fluttering emotions.

Even at those trivial words…

‘H-he’s worried about me.’

She felt affection from his words.

Squish, squish.

“Y-Yong-ah…”
“Hmm, it doesn’t feel like there’s much to touch…”
“Y-Yong-ah…”

Ju Na-young’s heart was pounding.

In fact, it wasn’t the first time her cheeks had been touched.

There had been a few times before.

But…

‘Almost only Ma Hana did it…’

For Ju Na-young, she had always been so envious of Ma Hana, who monopolized this cheek-touching behavior.

But being on the receiving end like this…
She thought it didn’t matter anymore.

‘Yong-hehe…’

It felt like she was flying.

It was as if wings were fluttering behind her back.

Then, once again, the ‘Crimson Dragon’ struck her face with its tail.

‘Why again?!’ It looked at her as if to say, ‘Did you forget me?’

‘Oh, right.’

Actually…

The reason Ju Na-young visited Yu Seha today was not only to confess her identity and offer a sincere apology.

There was also the intention to make her presence more recognized by taking advantage of being alone together.

Yes, that was definitely the plan.
That was the plan, but…

‘Yong-hehe, yong-hehe…’

Right now, at this moment, she was so happy…
She couldn’t think of anything else.

Grinning broadly, without realizing it, a dragon tail popped out.

It wagged like a dog’s.

Yu Seha laughed, finding it cute.
Soon, he asked casually.

“Then, did you have dinner today?”
“Yong-ah? No, it’s okay. I’m not really hun–”

-Growl.
-Grrrr.
-Yonggrrrrrrk!
-Yong-aaaaaaaaah!

“……”
“……”

The sound of her stomach growling at the perfect timing.

And it was very~~~ loud.

It was like there was thunder in her stomach.

Ju Na-young lowered her head.

She pulled out the cushion she was sitting on and covered her head with it.

She trembled like a well-ripened autumn persimmon.

How…
How?!

‘How can the timing be like this?!’

Ju Na-young was so resentful of the heavens.
So very…
Embarrassed.

Actually, this was inevitable.
Recently, she had been eating very little to lose weight.
She was always hungry.
It just burst out now.

Yu Seha chuckled at Ju Na-young.

“Perfect timing. I was thinking of having dinner anyway. We can eat together.”

“Yong-ah?”

“Um…”

Yu Seha, who was contemplating, smiles sweetly.

“Wanna have some ramen today?”

“……”

Ju Na-young was momentarily dumbfounded, her mouth agape.

Wh-what did she just hear?

‘Ramen? Ramen… ramen¹?!’

Various thoughts in Ju Na-young’s head started swirling like a galaxy.

Did he really mean it in that way? Now…?

Thump, thump, thump.

Ju Na-young’s heart began to race wildly.
No, no, surely not…
She didn’t expect to leap up the stairs like this.

At least…
A little…
She thought it would go slowly…?

‘Yo-yong-ah…’

Of course…
If Yu Seha wanted…

‘……’

Ju Na-young wouldn’t refuse.

She would do whatever he wanted.

But…

‘Ma Hana is here… and I haven’t settled things with Moon Bora yet…’

Explosive, swirling thoughts.

These thoughts were soon cooled by Yu Seha’s single remark.

“Just kidding~”
“…Huh?”
“I can’t serve something like ramen to a precious lady from the Dragon Sword Mir family, can I?”
“……”

Ju Na-young looked at Yu Seha walking to the kitchen with lifeless eyes.

As if thinking, ‘Should I just knock him out and kidnap him?’

Whether he knew this or not…

Yu Seha put on an apron adorned with a cute cat illustration.

“I’m making it now, so just wait a bit.”
“Oh? Oh, oh…”

Yu Seha took out ingredients from the fridge.
They weren’t all luxurious, but they seemed quite fresh, perhaps due to good care.

He spread his hand.
[Smile’s Arsenal] activated, and a wok the size of a human head appeared in mid-air.

He started frying cold rice with oil.

Ju Na-young, thinking, ‘Is it fried rice?’, belatedly realized the situation.

Yu Seha was… preparing a meal.

Ju Na-young quickly got up and approached him.
She watched him intently.

It was like… a mechanical way of cooking.
Cooking based on a recipe book with no errors or mistakes.

When she saw the subtle magic emanating from Yu Seha’s body, it seemed he was using his [Cooking] trait.

“I-I’ll help!”
“Oh, really? Then could you chop these vegetables?”
“Okay!”

Ju Na-young carefully picked up the kitchen knife.

She clumsily chopped the vegetables.

“Y-Yong…”

It was clear to anyone that she had no cooking experience.

Yu Seha couldn’t hold back his laughter and turned off the stove, setting down the wok.

“I’ll help you.”
“Yong-ah?”

He went behind her, holding her hands as if embracing her.

“Y-Yong-ah…”
“Focus, now. You might get hurt using the knife.”
“Y-Yong-ah…”

White steam puffed up over Ju Na-young’s head.

It was a sweet, intimate action, like something newlyweds might do.

Even the ‘Crimson Dragon’ within her was embarrassed, covering its face with its tail and curling up.

Slice, slice.

“……”
“Good, you’re doing well.”
“Wh-who said I couldn’t…?”
“Huh? You couldn’t?”
“…I-I’ll get mad.”

It was sweet.
It felt like a dream.

And that’s why the moment felt even shorter.

A delicious seafood fried rice was completed before they knew it.

With a fried egg on top and kimchi to cut the richness, the dish was set.

“Let’s eat.”
“I-I’ll enjoy it.”

The meal proceeded harmoniously.

Ju Na-young took a hearty bite and smiled bashfully.

She thought to herself.

Though she hadn’t made a big impression…

‘Yong-hehe…’

Right now, this moment was so very happy.

After a simple dinner with Ju Na-young, the next day arrived.

Currently, I was at the place where it all began, after a long time.

I was waiting for a bus to visit the <Third Guild> branch in Anyang City, Gyeonggi Province.

Ju Na-young had already left, seemingly dragged away by Team Leader Cho Seol-hwa.

Meowi, also left, riding in Cha Yeo-ju’s car, making her usual ‘Meow, Meow~’ sounds.

―Meow, Seha. You must be well without me, okay? Don’t cry?
―Meowi. That’s actually what I want to say to you.
―Meow, Seha. Don’t pick up anything weird to eat because I’m not there.
―Meowi. Once again, that’s what I want to say…

Meowi and I hugged before parting ways.

Touching her soft cat ears and hearing ‘Meowww~’ was a bonus.

Probably, Meowi felt the same way.
I felt a bit unsettled in many ways.

‘We were always together…’

Though it had only been a few weeks, being apart felt strangely awkward.

Still, because there was a farewell, the next meeting became more valuable.

I slowly let Meowi go, who was waving from the car window.

―Meow! Seha, I will become stronger and stronger…! I will definitely come back as a shield to protect you!

A phrase so touching that it brought tears to my eyes.

Ah, yes. That’s right.

I didn’t forget to ask Professor Cha Yeo-ju to take good care of our Meowi.

―…Cadet Yu Seha. You’re being overly dramatic.

I did hear a remark like that, though.

So, everyone left, and it was just me and Moon Bora.

Moon Bora had temporarily left to check the bus tickets.

‘But even considering that…’

Moon Bora was taking too long.

Just as I was wondering if something had happened.

“Cadet Yu Seha!”
“…Huh?”

A familiar voice.

I turned around and instinctively made a surprised expression.

An unexpected person was in front of me.

“Huff, huff…”
“Oh, Professor…?”

The hem of her clothes was soaked with sweat, as if she had been running for a long time.
Slightly tanned brown skin.
Her beige hair clung to her chin with beads of sweat, highlighting her unique allure.

Peng Jin-ah.

My first master and my last mentor.

My face was reflected like a mirror in her beautiful eyes.