Chapter 175: "Did you hear that, Elder Garph!"

A little while earlier.

Garph had been at his residence when a Dragon suddenly came to deliver a report.

At first, he had assumed it concerned the festival preparations. After all, as one of the Qiezhuran Clan’s elders, there were many matters he still had to attend to.

But after hearing the report, his expression changed immediately.

"What did you say?"

"E-Elder! Damien is trying to arrest the human you brought earlier! He has even gathered many Dragons around that place!"

"..."

Garph fell silent for a moment.

The human he had brought?

Wasn’t there only one human it could mean?

"Explain what happened."

The Dragon quickly recounted what he had seen. From Damien exposing Julian’s disguise, to how he had accused the human of being an infiltrator and tried to take him to prison.

Hearing it all, Garph felt his head begin to ache.

’...Damien, that boy!’

What on earth was that young Dragon thinking?

Garph had already warned him not to disturb Julian. In fact, he had personally given the human his own Elder’s Badge so that he wouldn’t run into trouble while in Qiezhuran territory.

And yet now Damien was trying to arrest him?

Garph certainly couldn’t allow that.

After all, Julian was no ordinary human.

He was the one the Primordial Dragon called Master, one of the most revered existences in the history of their race.

In fact, when he recalled how the Primordial Dragon had treated him, Garph still felt a little uneasy.

’...If anything happens to Lord Julian...’

He didn’t want to imagine the consequences.

What’s more, he had already promised to offer that human his help. How could Garph allow him to be treated like a criminal within his own Clan’s territory?

"Where are they now?"

"N-near the stone bridge, Elder!"

Garph stood up at once.

Without waiting any longer, he left his residence immediately.

His speed was so great that within moments, Garph had already passed through several streets connecting the buildings of Qiezhuran territory.

He didn’t even care about the Dragons who were startled to see him moving in such a hurry.

For now, there was only one thing he wanted to make sure of.

That Damien hadn’t done anything too foolish yet.

***

"E-Elder Garph!?"

The crowd of Dragons began to part when they saw the old Dragon who had just arrived.

Garph walked past them with quick strides, then immediately took in the situation before him.

Julian still stood calmly, carrying Felicya as usual. Monk looked frightened behind him, while the nine-tailed fox near his feet appeared rather restless.

At the very least, they were all still unharmed.

Garph felt a little relieved.

But when his gaze shifted to Damien, his expression turned cold at once.

"..."

Damien, who had looked so confident until then, suddenly froze.

’E-Elder Garph!?’

He hadn’t expected that old Dragon to truly appear.

Wasn’t this too fast?

Damien hadn’t even managed to take that human to prison yet!

But before he could say anything, Garph had already walked past him and stopped right in front of Julian.

"Lord Julian."

Garph bowed his head respectfully.

"I sincerely apologize for the inconvenience you have suffered. This was my negligence."

"..."

Julian studied the old Dragon.

Honestly, he was quite relieved to see Garph arrive. At the very least, this problem would be resolved now, right?

Julian truly felt uncomfortable about everything that had happened.

"It’s fine."

That short reply put Garph a little at ease.

But he still felt that this matter couldn’t be left as it was.

Especially when so many members of his own Clan had witnessed the incident.

Garph then turned around.

"Damien."

His voice sounded calm, but his gaze remained sharp.

"Explain what you are doing."

Damien flinched.

"T-that’s... Elder, I..."

He had some difficulty finding the right words.

After all, Garph was a Rank-S Dragon, someone even the other elders didn’t dare treat carelessly.

And now, that old Dragon was looking at him with clear displeasure.

But Damien quickly remembered something.

Hadn’t he actually done nothing wrong?

That human really had disguised himself as a Dragon!

He had even brought a Voidborn that had previously been in the hands of the Drazhuel Clan!

Why should he be afraid?

"Elder Garph!"

Damien finally lifted his head.

"I was only carrying out my responsibility as a member of the Qiezhuran Clan!"

Garph frowned slightly.

"Responsibility?"

"That’s right! This human entered our territory and disguised himself as a Dragon! He even brought other foreign creatures with him!"

Damien pointed at Julian with a serious expression.

"And most importantly, that fox is the Voidborn the Drazhuel Clan is searching for! Haven’t we all heard about that incident!?"

A few Dragons began to exchange glances.

Damien continued before Garph could answer.

"This human has taken away something that belongs to another Clan! If we just let him wander around, how will the Drazhuel Clan view us!?"

"..."

Garph remained silent.

He already knew about the matter of the Voidborn.

In fact, he himself had considered how the fox’s presence might affect relations between Qiezhuran and Drazhuel.

But that didn’t mean he could hand Julian over just because Damien wanted it.

"Elder, Damien has a point."

One of the Dragons from the crowd finally spoke.

"We really shouldn’t be protecting a foreign creature who took away the Drazhuel Clan’s Voidborn."

"That’s right! What if they think we deliberately helped that human?"

"Couldn’t relations between the two Clans get even worse?"

Similar opinions began to be heard from several directions.

The Dragons might not have liked Damien’s arrogant attitude, but his accusation about the Voidborn wasn’t something that could be ignored.

Especially since relations between Clans were no simple matter.

If the Drazhuel Clan believed that Qiezhuran was deliberately protecting the party who had taken their Voidborn, a bigger conflict could break out.

Damien smiled when he heard all that.

’That’s right! Of course I’m right!’

His confidence returned.

Even in front of Elder Garph, the other Dragons still supported his opinion!

Didn’t that prove his actions were correct?

"Did you hear that, Elder Garph!"

Damien raised his voice.

"Everyone understands the problem! Only you keep defending this human for no clear reason!"

Garph looked at him without answering.

But Damien, who felt he was in the right, only grew more fired up.

"Honestly, I don’t understand at all! What is so special about this lowly human that you have to treat him like an honored guest!?"

"Damien."

Garph called his name coldly.

But the young Dragon didn’t stop.

"Can’t you truly see how foolish this decision is!? He can’t even protect himself, yet you act as if he were someone extraordinary!"

Damien let out a short laugh, then shook his head.

"Ha! How absurd! I don’t know whether this human is simply too good at deceiving, or whether Elder Garph is too foolish to have believed him!"

"..."

Several Dragons fell silent at once.

They might have supported Damien’s objection about the Voidborn, but insulting Garph directly was a different matter.

After all, that old Dragon was still a greatly respected Rank-S elder.

But Damien, who was filled with self-satisfaction, didn’t seem to notice.

"Even a lowly human can make you act like a fool! How could someone like you still be worthy of being—"

Slap!

A slap landed squarely on Damien’s face.

The young Dragon’s body staggered to the side, and his words broke off at once.

"..."

The crowd went silent.

Damien slowly lifted his head, staring at Garph with a look of disbelief.

His hand moved to touch the cheek that had just been struck.

"E-Elder...?"

Garph lowered his hand.

His face still looked calm, but his gaze held no warmth at all.

"Enough."

Just one word.

Damien opened his mouth, but no words came out right away.

He truly didn’t understand.

Wasn’t he defending the Clan’s interests?

Why had Garph slapped him in front of so many Dragons?

Meanwhile, Julian, who had watched it happen, was also a little shocked.

’...Woah.’

He hadn’t expected Garph to use his hand right away.

But Julian said nothing.

At least he wasn’t the one who had received that slap.

Garph then turned his gaze to the Dragons gathered there.

"Listen carefully."

No one interrupted him.

"Lord Julian and those with him are in Qiezhuran territory at my own invitation."

Garph paused for a moment, making sure everyone heard him.

"He is not an infiltrator. Lord Julian is my guest, and also the guest of Lady Cleenah, the current Clan Leader of the Qiezhuran."

"...!"

A few Dragons looked startled.

They had already seen the Elder’s Badge Julian carried earlier. But learning that the Clan Leader herself also regarded that human as a guest was something else entirely.

Damien couldn’t even give an answer right away.

Garph had no intention of dragging the matter out.

He turned back to Julian and bowed his head slightly.

"Lord Julian, I am truly sorry. Please allow me to escort you back."

Julian nodded.

"Sure."

That was what he had wanted from the start.

Garph then turned and began to walk, while Julian followed behind him with Monk, Felicya, and Lumi.

No Dragon tried to stop them.

Even Damien could only stand where he was, staring at the back of Garph and the human he had just humiliated.

And so, Julian finally left that crowd together with Garph.