Chapter 176: Primordial Dragon Silhouette

Julian walked along behind Garph with Monk, Felicya, and Lumi.

After what had happened earlier, he had actually hoped to return right away to the dwelling the old Dragon had provided.

After all, walking around had been enough for one day.

But after a while, Julian began to notice something.

The road they were taking didn’t seem to lead to his dwelling.

Garph was instead leading them past several buildings and streets that Julian had never visited before.

Julian was a little curious.

But seeing that Garph kept walking without saying anything, he decided to follow him for now.

At least he no longer needed to worry about his disguise.

The Dragons they passed did glance at Julian and his group with odd looks. But once they saw Garph in front of them, not one tried to approach.

Julian felt a bit relieved.

Meanwhile, Garph himself was thinking about something.

He still remembered what had happened earlier, especially when Damien began to insult Julian and even dared to belittle him.

Honestly, Garph didn’t care much about the insults directed at himself.

He had lived long enough to know that not every Dragon had a good attitude. Even among the old Dragons, there were still some who were too proud of their strength and standing.

But what Damien had done was different.

’...That boy.’

Garph let out a small sigh.

Damien did have extraordinary talent. Among the young generation of Qiezhuran, only a few could match him.

Unfortunately, that talent seemed to have made him overconfident.

And what was more worrying was that Damien might not be the only one.

The other Dragons didn’t dare insult Garph directly. But who knew what they truly thought when they were behind his back?

What’s more, some of them had seemed to support Damien’s actions earlier.

Garph couldn’t ignore that.

’...Since when did everything become like this?’

He looked at the road before him again.

Qiezhuran territory still looked the same as it had in the past. The mountains, the river, and the buildings that had stood for so long were still in their places.

But the Dragons who lived within it were slowly changing.

And Garph didn’t like that change.

"Lord Julian."

"Hm?"

Julian turned his attention to Garph.

"Do you know what the Dragon race was like in the past?"

"...?"

Julian was a little surprised to hear that question.

About the Dragon race in the past?

Honestly, he didn’t know much, or perhaps he didn’t know anything at all.

Garph didn’t seem to be waiting for an answer anyway.

"In the past, Dragons were not like they are now."

The old Dragon spoke as he kept walking.

"We were indeed a race that took great pride in our strength and standing. In fact, I won’t deny that Dragons have had arrogant natures since long ago."

Julian listened quietly.

"However, that pride was different from what you see now."

Garph let out a small sigh.

"The Dragons of old preferred to remain neutral toward the various conflicts in other worlds. We weren’t very interested in wars that offered no benefit, much less attacking far weaker creatures just to show off our power."

Julian grew a little interested.

He hadn’t actually expected Garph to bring this up so suddenly.

But the explanation sounded quite interesting.

"Most Dragons preferred to seek knowledge and wisdom. We had great curiosity about the world, especially about the various living beings who had something interesting about them."

Garph continued in a calm tone.

"If we met a weak creature, we usually wouldn’t bother it so long as it didn’t look for trouble first. In fact, some Dragons didn’t mind offering them help."

Julian nodded.

’...Doesn’t that sound like how Dragons should be?’

As someone who had lived in the modern world, Julian naturally had his own image of Dragons.

Extremely powerful creatures, long-lived, and keepers of knowledge that most races didn’t possess.

Of course, in many of the stories he had known, Dragons were also often depicted as arrogant creatures.

But that arrogance usually came from confidence in their own strength.

It didn’t mean they always had to look down on or bother other creatures.

’...So that’s how they used to be.’

Julian felt it was a bit of a pity.

After all, the Dragons he had met so far had more often made him feel threatened.

Even so, he couldn’t consider all Dragons the same.

At the very least, Garph had treated him very well.

While they talked, Garph finally stopped in front of a building.

The building wasn’t very different from the other buildings in Qiezhuran territory. Its walls were white, with a curved roof and several wooden pillars supporting the front.

It simply had two floors.

"Please, Lord Julian."

Garph invited him in.

Julian was a little confused, but still followed the old Dragon up the stairs to the second floor.

Before long, they arrived at an open space facing directly toward the Qiezhuran settlement.

’This is a nice place.’

Julian took in the view before him.

The building wasn’t very tall. But because its position was slightly higher than the surrounding buildings, they could see most of the streets and the bustle of the Dragons quite clearly.

Lanterns still lit the white stone roads, while the light from various buildings reflected on the surface of the river.

Some Dragons in humanoid form walked among the buildings, while others were still busy with festival preparations.

In the distance, the mountains surrounding the settlement could still be faintly seen under the moonlight.

"Woah... Boss, this place is so nice!"

Monk moved to the edge of the building to look at the view below.

Lumi lifted its head with curiosity as well, while Felicya stayed in Julian’s arms without showing much interest.

Julian himself rather enjoyed the view.

At the very least, this was far more pleasant than having to deal with Damien again.

But Garph didn’t seem to be finished speaking yet.

"This place still looks the same as it did in the past."

The old Dragon stood beside Julian, gazing at the settlement below them.

"Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about the Dragons who live here."

"..."

Julian turned his attention back to Garph.

"In the past, the Qiezhuran Clan held a very high standing. Many other Clans were under our leadership, and relations among them were quite good."

Garph paused for a moment.

"But now, even the Clans that once stood under Qiezhuran’s leadership are beginning to pull away. Some of them may become our enemies one day."

Julian fell silent on hearing that.

He didn’t understand the politics of the Dragons very well.

But based on what had happened earlier, he was beginning to get a slight picture of what was going on.

Especially when he recalled the words of Damien and the other Dragons.

’...The Drazhuel Clan.’

Julian glanced at Lumi near his feet.

The fox was still looking at the view below with curiosity, apparently not very interested in their conversation.

But Lumi’s presence was precisely one of the problems Garph was facing.

At least, that was what Julian understood from what the Dragons had said earlier.

The Drazhuel Clan was searching for the Voidborn who was with him.

And Garph, as a Qiezhuran elder, was protecting Julian, who had brought that fox.

If the two Clans came to blows over it, wouldn’t the situation become extremely troublesome?

’...This is hard. It’s not that I want to involve the others in this problem, but what can I do?’

There was no way he could hand Lumi over either.

Julian honestly didn’t want to get involved in a conflict between Clans.

He was still trying to find a way to leave the Dragon World.

But as for Lumi...

Julian looked at the white fox again.

He had no intention at all of handing it over to the Dragons who had hunted it before.

What’s more, Julian already knew that Lumi had its own reasons for running away.

’...Haa.’

He let out a small sigh in his heart.

It seemed the problem he faced wasn’t as simple as he had first imagined.

It was becoming an issue, considering that this Clan could be put in danger because of Julian’s actions, and would Julian himself just stay quiet and let it happen?

Even thinking about helping felt difficult. I mean, what could Julian actually do in this conflict?

He was only Rank-B.

However, on the other side, Garph said no more about Lumi or the Drazhuel Clan.

The old Dragon simply stood silently, gazing at the settlement below them.

Julian said nothing either.

He was still thinking about Garph’s earlier words when he noticed that the old Dragon had suddenly smiled.

"...?"

Garph turned his gaze in a certain direction.

"It seems the time has come."

Julian tilted his head slightly.

"The time?"

Garph nodded, then looked back at the scene before them.

"That’s right, Lord Julian. A performance is about to begin."