Chapter 177: Primordial Dragon Silhouette 2

That night, the atmosphere in the Qiezhuran Clan’s settlement felt far livelier than before.

The lanterns decorating the streets began to give off a warm glow, while Dragons in humanoid form gathered in various places.

Some were still chatting with their friends, while others seemed to be watching a building not far from the center of the settlement.

That building was decorated extravagantly.

All kinds of lanterns hung around it, along with brightly colored cloths that fluttered gently in the night breeze. A few Dragons were even still busy tidying the decorations at the lower part of the building.

Julian, who was watching it all from the second floor of the building where he stood, looked quite interested.

’...Oh, so this is the performance Garph meant?’

A performance was about to begin.

At first, Julian hadn’t quite understood what that meant. But as he saw more and more Dragons gathering, he began to grow curious.

"Boss! Look! They’re all gathering over there!"

Monk pointed at the building decorated with lanterns.

Julian nodded.

"...Yeah."

"Will there be a real performance? Like a dance or something?"

"Hmm... How would I know?"

Before Monk could ask again, Garph, who stood not far from them, finally spoke.

"You will find out soon, Lord Julian."

The old Dragon seemed quite pleased.

In fact, ever since earlier, he had kept watching that building with a small smile that never left his face.

Julian was a little curious watching him.

After all, Garph had just been talking about a rather serious matter regarding the current state of the Dragon race.

But now his mood seemed much better.

’...It seems this really is something important.’

Julian looked back at the scene below.

The gathering Dragons kept growing in number. A few Dragons in their Dragon form could even be seen landing in fairly wide places before turning into humanoids and joining the crowd.

Fortunately, no commotion broke out.

At least for tonight, everyone seemed to want only to enjoy something pleasant.

And Julian certainly didn’t mind that.

A few moments later.

The light illuminating the building at the center of the settlement suddenly grew a little brighter.

The Dragons who had been chatting began to turn their attention toward the building.

Julian watched it too.

’...Oh?’

Above the building, something began to appear.

At first it looked like only a faint dark shadow. But slowly, the shadow grew larger and took the shape of a Dragon.

Its size was considerable. Even from where Julian stood, he could see that the figure towered far above the building beneath it.

However, its appearance was not clear at all.

There were no recognizable scale colors or facial features. Only the dark silhouette of a Dragon, seen amid the light enveloping it.

’...Is this an illusion or something?’

Julian watched it with some interest.

He had seen all kinds of extraordinary abilities since coming to the Dragon World, but an illusion this large was still rather interesting to witness.

What’s more, the shadow looked so vivid from a distance, as if a giant Dragon were truly there above the building.

"Woah!"

Monk opened her mouth wide.

"Boss! There’s a huge Dragon over there!"

"It’s so big!"

Monk looked so excited that her ears kept moving without stopping.

Meanwhile, Lumi lifted its head as well.

"...A Dragon?"

The fox watched the shadow for a few moments, then drew close to Julian again.

Its nine tails moved slowly, but it said nothing more.

Felicya was still in Julian’s arms, seeming not very interested in the crowd around them.

"Lord Julian."

Garph finally spoke again.

"That is an illusion depicting the figure of the Primordial Dragon."

"...The Primordial Dragon?"

Julian turned to him.

"That’s right. Its true appearance isn’t shown clearly. The illusion was made based on a depiction handed down from the past."

Garph looked back at the huge shadow.

"And the one using that illusion is Lady Cleenah, the current Clan Leader of the Qiezhuran."

Julian was a little surprised.

’...So that’s the Clan Leader?’

He looked at the Dragon’s shadow again.

Julian had once imagined what the Qiezhuran Clan Leader might look like, but he had never expected to see her for the first time through something like this.

Of course, since it was only an illusion, he still didn’t know what Cleenah truly looked like.

But at the very least, one thing was certain.

’...This illusion ability is excellent.’

Julian felt a little amazed.

And just as he was still watching the shadow, a voice suddenly rang out.

"Good evening, all members of the Qiezhuran Clan."

A woman’s voice.

It sounded mature, calm, and clear enough to be heard by the Dragons gathered below.

The conversations among the crowd began to stop.

"First of all, I would like to thank all of you who have worked so hard preparing for this year’s festival."

Julian looked at the Dragon’s shadow again.

So, that voice truly did belong to Cleenah.

"As you already know, seven days from now, we will once again celebrate the Primordial Legacy Festival."

Some of the Dragons looked even more excited upon hearing the name of the festival.

"This festival is an annual celebration to remember the legacy of the Primordial Dragon, the being who has held an important place in the history of our race."

Cleenah’s voice sounded calm as she continued.

"For Dragons, strength has always been a source of pride. But the legacy we remember in this festival is not only about strength, but also about the wisdom, knowledge, and respect that our race once held in high regard."

That explanation sounded rather similar to what Garph had told him earlier.

About how the Dragons of old preferred to seek knowledge and didn’t carelessly use their power to bother weaker creatures.

It seemed this festival really was connected to those values.

"Over the next seven days, preparations will continue. I hope all of you can enjoy the process, help one another, and welcome the guests who will come."

The Dragon’s shadow moved slightly.

"This festival is not only a chance to celebrate the past. It is also a chance for all of us to come together, enjoy each other’s company, and remember what is worth preserving."

The Dragons below listened quietly.

Even Monk, who had been watching the size of the Dragon’s shadow all this time, now looked rather serious as she listened.

"For that reason, I hope this year’s festival will be an enjoyable celebration for all members of the Qiezhuran Clan."

Cleenah’s voice paused for a moment.

"We will meet again when the festival begins. Thank you for your hard work."

Once those words ended, the giant Dragon’s shadow slowly began to fade.

The light around the building returned to how it had been before.

And before long, the voices of Dragons began to be heard from all directions.

"The Primordial Legacy Festival!"

"It’s finally starting this year too!"

"I heard there will be many guests from other Clans!"

"In that case, we should hurry and finish the preparations!"

Some Dragons laughed happily, while others began talking about what they wanted to do during the festival.

The settlement’s atmosphere, which had briefly gone quiet, was once again filled with conversation.

It even looked livelier than before.

"Wow..."

Monk watched it all in admiration.

"Boss, the Dragons’ festival is really big, huh?"

"It seems so."

Julian nodded.

He was actually quite curious about the celebration too.

Especially after hearing Cleenah’s explanation of the festival’s purpose.

’...A festival to remember the Primordial Dragon...’

But he didn’t think too much about it.

After all, he still had many things to consider about his own presence in the Dragon World.

At the very least, for now, he could enjoy this rather pleasant scene.

Julian looked at the settlement below again.

The Dragons seemed excited, lanterns lit nearly every street, and the night felt fairly warm.

It was very different from the commotion he had gone through with Damien earlier.

Meanwhile, Garph still stood beside him with a satisfied smile.

"What do you think, Lord Julian?"

"...? It looks good."

Garph nodded.

"I’m glad to hear that. This festival is indeed one of the celebrations most cherished by the Qiezhuran Clan."

Julian watched the Dragons chatting below once more.

Seeing them like this, it was a little hard to imagine that the Clan was facing various problems with other Clans.

But he had no intention of bringing that up now.

A few minutes passed without much conversation.

Monk was still enjoying the view, Lumi seemed to be losing interest, while Felicya kept leaning lazily in Julian’s arms.

Until finally, Garph opened his mouth again.

"Lord Julian."

"Hm?"

"If you don’t mind, I would like to invite you to meet someone."

Julian turned to him.

"Who?"

Garph smiled slightly.

"Lady Cleenah, The Clan Leader of the Qiezhuran wishes to meet you, and as it happens, she now has some free time."