Chapter 172: Taking a Look Around the Dragon’s Lair! 2

It was already afternoon.

Julian walked along a white stone road that stretched between buildings typical of the Dragons’ dwelling.

A river flowed not far from where he was, with an arched stone bridge connecting its two banks.

Wooden pavilions and white-walled buildings stood among small gardens, while curved roofs gave the place a rather unique impression.

’...This really is a nice place.’

Julian admired it once again.

He had actually seen this scenery when he first arrived with Garph.

But seeing it up close gave a different experience.

Dragons in humanoid form could be seen strolling leisurely, chatting, or enjoying their time around the pavilions.

Every so often, a large Dragon was seen flying toward the caves in the mountain walls.

Not far from there, a waterfall also flowed down into a lake surrounded by trees.

"Woah... Boss, look at that!"

Monk pointed at a Dragon that had just flown across the sky.

"It’s so big!"

"...Don’t point."

"Ah!"

Monk quickly lowered her hand, seeming to realize she might have made a terrifying mistake.

Fortunately, that Dragon didn’t notice them.

Julian continued on his way calmly.

Along the road, he also found many decorations being prepared for the festival.

Some lanterns were hung beneath the eaves of buildings, while long, brightly colored cloths began to adorn the streets.

There were also Dragons moving large objects toward an open field.

’Wow, isn’t this a bit too extravagant? And they say this is held once a year?’

Julian was a little curious about what they were celebrating.

But he didn’t think about it too much.

After all, there were still a few days before the festival began.

And for now, he just wanted to enjoy the chance to walk around without having to worry about anything dangerous.

Fortunately, their disguises were working quite well.

A few Dragons glanced at Julian and Monk, mostly because of their smaller body sizes.

But no one tried to stop them.

Although some of the Dragons’ gazes felt a bit condescending, Julian didn’t mind much.

As long as no one went looking for trouble, he had no reason to care about them either.

Before they knew it, the sky began to darken.

The lanterns that had been put up along the road earlier were now being lit, casting a soft glow that illuminated the settlement.

Their reflections could be seen on the surface of the river, while the buildings around them looked even more beautiful.

In the distance, the towering mountains looked like great shadows beneath the night sky.

Julian paused for a moment on a stone bridge,and he took in the view with interest.

The atmosphere was truly pleasant.

If he hadn’t known that this place was inhabited by Dragons far stronger than humans, Julian might have thought of it as a wonderful tourist spot.

"Boss, are we going back now?"

Monk asked from beside him.

"Soon, maybe? I don’t know either."

"Ah... Okay...?"

Lumi, for its part, seemed more occupied with some fruit visible near a building.

But before the fox could do anything, Julian had already called out to it.

"Lumi."

"...What?"

"Don’t take other people’s things."

"...Hmph."

Lumi turned its head away.

"Why should I?"

At least the fox listened to him.

However, just as Julian was about to continue on, a voice suddenly came from behind.

"Oh? Look who’s here."

"..."

Julian stopped in his tracks.

The voice sounded rather familiar.

When he turned around, the figure of a humanoid Dragon stood not far from him.

An arrogant smile decorated that Dragon’s face.

That was the Dragon who had knocked on the door of Julian’s dwelling earlier, right?

If he remembered correctly, his name was Damien.

’...Well, I don’t know. But this place is quite large, and there are plenty of residents, so why do I end up running into him here?’

Julian sighed a little inwardly, feeling annoyed.

He naturally still remembered the Dragon who had come to his home earlier and claimed he would be the next Clan Leader of the Qiezhuran Clan.

The Rank-C Dragon whose door he had simply shut. And now, the same person had appeared before him again.

Damien looked Julian up and down.

Then his smile widened.

"So, you thought that by disguising yourself like that, I wouldn’t recognize you?"

"..."

That was the surprising part. Julian was sure the illusion was still active, so he wondered how Damien had managed to see through the disguise.

But thinking it over again, Garph’s Illusion Artifact only changed appearances.

That didn’t mean someone who had met him before couldn’t recognize him by other means.

So had Damien really just guessed it at a single glance?

Julian didn’t know. Anyway, it was rather irritating.

Damien snorted in front of him.

"Still acting arrogant, I see? I can hardly believe a human would dare treat me like that."

A few Dragons who were walking by began to glance in their direction.

Monk immediately stiffened, while Julian remained silent and looked relaxed.

"B-boss..."

Then he looked at Damien again.

"If you’re still bothered about what happened earlier, I’ve already explained my reason."

"Hah? You think that reason was enough?"

Damien stepped closer.

"A lowly human shuts the door in my face, then strolls around our Clan’s territory disguised as a Dragon. Don’t you feel you’ve done something outrageous?"

Hearing that, Julian paused for a moment and spoke in a low voice.

"If you object, you can discuss it with Elder Garph."

"Elder Garph?"

Damien let out a short laugh.

"You really can only rely on that elder’s name, can’t you?"

Julian looked at him calmly.

"He’s the one who brought me here."

But as if that didn’t matter, Damien only smiled broadly as he watched the Dragons beginning to gather, wondering what was going on.

Julian had already begun to anticipate something unpleasant when he saw how Damien smiled.

And sure enough.

"Hey! Everyone! Come here!"

A few Dragons who had been watching from a distance began to approach with curiosity.

"What’s going on?"

"Isn’t that Damien?"

"What’s happening?"

Their numbers kept growing.

Monk immediately hid behind Julian, while Lumi growled softly.

Damien raised his hand and pointed directly at Julian and the others.

"Take a good look at them!"

A smug smile was plain on his face.

"They’re not Dragons! They’re foreign creatures in disguise, who have infiltrated the territory of the Qiezhuran Clan!"

At that moment, Damien’s face looked to Julian like that of an utterly wicked demon!

So wicked that Julian felt like smashing that face right then and there.