Chapter 171: Taking a Look Around the Dragon’s Lair!

"An Illusion Artifact?"

Julian looked with mild interest at the small object in Garph’s hand.

The old Dragon had come to visit him again, but this time not to pass on information about the festival or the Clan Leader of the Qiezhuran Clan.

Rather, he had come to give him something.

"That’s right, Lord Julian. This is only a simple Illusion Artifact that can change your appearance in the eyes of others."

Garph held the object out closer.

"Now that preparations for the festival have begun, more Dragons will be coming to our territory. I thought you might want to look around without drawing unnecessary attention."

"Oh..."

Julian nodded.

That was indeed something he needed.

Honestly, ever since seeing the view from the window yesterday, Julian had been quite interested in exploring the Dragons’ dwelling.

But there was one problem.

He was a human.

And the Dragons did not seem to care much for other races suddenly appearing in their territory.

He hadn’t found a way to escape or anything of the sort yet, but for now, Julian had found that he could at least breathe safely in this place.

’...This is quite handy.’

Julian examined the artifact once more, then asked.

"How do I use it?"

"Simply channel your Mana into it, then decide on the appearance you want. Its effect can be used on several people at once."

After explaining how to use it, Garph also offered a little advice on the disguise Julian should use.

Of course, they couldn’t pass themselves off as ordinary humans.

So the best choice was to become Dragons.

"However, since this Artifact doesn’t truly change your body, your size and so on will remain the same."

"...Won’t that look suspicious?"

Julian was a little worried.

After all, most of the Dragons he had seen had fairly large humanoid builds.

And Felicya was still a little girl.

"There’s no need to worry. There are kinds of Dragons whose humanoid forms are small, like humans. Although some other Dragons look down on them a bit, their existence isn’t anything strange."

"I see..."

Julian understood.

So even among the Dragons themselves, there was still discrimination against those with different body types.

Still, that was far better than walking around with a human identity known to everyone.

At the very least, Julian wouldn’t have to worry about hostile stares coming from every direction.

"And one more thing, Lord Julian."

Garph held out his hand again.

This time, a badge lay on his palm.

The badge bore a rather intricate Dragon carving, with a shape clearly different from ordinary objects.

"This is my Elder’s Badge. If there’s any trouble, you only need to show it."

"...Elder’s Badge?"

"Correct. With this, members of the Qiezhuran Clan will know that you are under my guarantee."

Julian studied the badge for a moment.

’...Woah, doesn’t this mean it’s extremely valuable?’

After all, Garph was a Rank-S elder.

A badge representing his standing was clearly not something to be given to just anyone. But seeing that Garph kept his hand extended, Julian finally decided to accept it.

’Ahem, I won’t refuse it.’

Julian thought awkwardly, but stayed calm on the outside as he thanked him.

"Thank you."

"You need not thank me, Lord Julian."

Garph bowed his head respectfully.

"....."

Julian was truly curious what kind of misunderstanding had actually taken place back then.

In any case, Julian gladly accepted hospitality.

Some time later.

Julian stood in front of a large mirror, studying his own appearance.

A pair of Dragon horns now seemed to grow above his head, while a few small scales decorated his neck and hands.

There was even a Dragon tail behind his body.

Of course, all of it was only an illusion.

Julian didn’t truly have horns or a tail, but to other people, his appearance now was no different from a Dragon in humanoid form.

’...Woah, woah, this is kind of cool?’

He tried to touch the horns. But his hand only touched his own head.

That was clearly the weakness of this Illusion Artifact. Julian couldn’t move carelessly in ways that would make the Dragons suspicious. Such as letting them touch those horns or that tail.

Julian then glanced to the side.

There, Monk was busy inspecting herself with an extremely excited expression.

"Boss! Boss! Look! Monk has a Dragon tail now!"

The rabbit girl spun around a few times, trying to see the tail that seemed to be behind her.

Her rabbit ears were no longer visible either, replaced by rather small Dragon horns.

"Wow! Monk really looks like a Dragon!"

Julian nodded with an awkward smile in his mind.

At the very least, the disguise was quite good.

Meanwhile, Felicya, who was back in his arms, had undergone a similar change.

Her goat horns now looked like Dragon horns, while a few small scales decorated her body.

But the girl herself wasn’t very interested.

She just leaned lazily against Julian, still seeming quieter than usual.

’...Suddenly, this girl is back to normal too.’

Julian didn’t know what had happened, or why, or how. But since Felicya was no longer acting strange, that was enough, right?

Julian also had no intention of bothering her by asking this and that.

As for Lumi...

"Grrrr! Why are my tails gone!?"

The white-furred fox spun around in irritation, trying to look at the back of its own body.

Its nine tails now looked like a single large tail.

To other people, Lumi was just an ordinary, fairly large fox, the kind of creature that could indeed be found in the Dragon World.

But Lumi clearly didn’t like that.

"Lumi has nine tails! Nine! Why is there only one!?"

"Your tails are still there, you know."

"Liar!"

Julian let out a small sigh.

He then reached out and touched one of Lumi’s tails, which seemed to be invisible.

The fox immediately fell silent, even flinching.

"...Oh."

"Do you understand now?"

"...I understand."

Lumi finally stopped spinning, nodding firmly.

It seemed to ignore the fact that Julian had just touched it. Whether that was progress in his relationship with Lumi, or perhaps just Lumi not noticing at all, he couldn’t tell.

Either way, it was fairly satisfying.

’So soft.’

With a satisfied smile in his mind, Julian calmed himself with a small sigh and turned to the other preparations.

After making sure everything was ready, Julian put away Garph’s Elder’s Badge carefully.

At last, he could go out.