Chapter 160: Monk’s Problem

Breaking through the mist and standing in the mountains themselves. Julian’s first reaction as he set foot in the habitat of the Dragons was pure awe.

"This place..."

The breeze felt far more refreshing. A kind of quality Julian could never have found in the human world, nor in his previous world, before he had been moved to the current human world.

As the wind blew, a kind of deep purple flower petal drifted about. They resembled leaves and carried a scent as rich as wine.

Wherever Julian looked, wherever he turned his face, he realized that he was probably still not at the place where the Dragons slept. He had only entered their habitat.

Then, this place was perhaps a kind of garden.

Seeing these mountains, neatly covered by a kind of deep purple flower growing everywhere.

"Do you know, often, when a Dragon dies, sometimes a rare phenomenon occurs."

Julian turned to the other side, finding Garph, who had already returned to his humanoid form.

The Dragon wore a calm and elegant expression, but right now, it was hard to ignore his slightly sorrowful gaze as he looked at this garden.

"This expanse of flowers was created by the death of a Dragon I hold in great respect."

"Oh... So, basically this place is also his grave?"

Garph nodded.

It was new knowledge to Julian. Who would have thought the death of a Dragon could create a natural phenomenon like this?

Creating such a magnificent and beautiful expanse of flowers. It felt so soothing that even Julian could not help feeling a little sleepy.

After all, after thinking about his life, perhaps this sensation, the freedom and tranquility of this place, was what Julian had been pursuing.

A beautiful, quiet place to settle, rest, and live. But, unfortunately, this world was not kind.

Danger was everywhere, and problems kept occurring one after another.

That was why Julian could only feel a little disappointed.

"Woah... This is a really great place..."

Glancing to the side, Julian was startled to see Monk sniffing at the flowers with a complicated expression.

"Hmm... Can these be eaten?"

It could not be denied, this rabbit was clearly very dumb.

"...You might become rabbit satay if you eat that."

Monk had just placed the petal on her tongue, then her body froze with fear, and she lifted her gaze to Julian for a few seconds.

"I’m not lying."

Seeing Julian repeat his words without hesitation, Monk quietly discarded the petal, brushed all the dust off her clothes, and stepped back behind Julian.

"...I didn’t eat anything, you know."

"....."

’How could she think of eating something that came from the death of a Dragon, right in front of that Dragon himself?’

Julian was not lying. If Garph were short-tempered and revered this expanse of flowers, Monk would surely be turned into rabbit satay for daring to be disrespectful.

After that, Garph said they would begin walking from here, toward the valley where the Dragons lived.

Julian had no objection at all, so he simply followed the trail, following Garph’s calm steps while he explained a few things.

While thinking that nothing special was happening, Julian suddenly noticed one thing. It was Felicya, who, it turned out, was not asleep.

The girl, quietly resting her cheek on Julian’s shoulder, was only gazing at the expanse of flowers.

’...What now?’

Thinking about it again, there were many things Julian did not know, and it had always been like that from the start, hadn’t it?

But, lately, such things had increased more and more because of Felicya.

How many times had Felicya acted like this?

Acting as if she knew something, but only deciding to stay silent and not wanting to explain anything.

It was starting to get annoying.

More annoying still because Julian could not force Felicya to explain anything.

With a small sigh, Julian fell silent again and followed Garph without saying anything.

Monk kept chattering about this and that, while the little fox kept letting out low growls that showed its wariness.

And, after walking for some time, Julian finally arrived at the Dragon valley. He now found and understood how the Dragons’ place of dwelling looked.

"Oh..."

Neither Julian nor Monk could hold back their awe.

At that moment, he was standing on a trail on the mountainside, high enough to let him see almost the entire valley spread wide below.

A river split the valley, winding between green trees and buildings scattered along its banks.

Arched stone bridges connected roads of white stone, while cottages and pavilions with wooden pillars, white walls, and curved roofs stood among small gardens.

Several humanoid figures could be seen walking leisurely, wearing long robes that fluttered in the wind. Others sat beneath pavilions, chatting near the river.

’...Is this really where the Dragons live?’

Julian blinked.

Honestly, he had imagined a place filled with huge caves, with piles of gold and treasure inside.

But, what he saw now looked like a beautiful ancient village.

No, it might be more accurate to call it a small town.

However, when Julian raised his gaze a little higher, he noticed something.

’Oh... So that’s how it is.’

Behind the settlement, the mountains towered so high that part of their peaks was covered by clouds.

On the cliff walls were many giant cave entrances. Occasionally, a Dragon could be seen emerging from them, flapping its wings before darting into the sky.

There were also Dragons landing on stone plateaus on the cliffs, then taking humanoid form before walking toward the nearest building.

"...Ah."

Julian finally understood.

So, those small buildings were used when they were in human form, while the large caves in the mountains might be their dwellings in Dragon form.

’That makes sense.’

After all, it would be very troublesome if they had to build houses the size of their true bodies, wouldn’t it?

While thinking about that, Julian looked at the valley again.

In the distance, a waterfall flowed from a gap in the mountains toward a lake surrounded by pavilions and wooden bridges.

Farther still, a large building with a tiered roof stood on stone steps, facing the entire valley.

That building looked far more magnificent than the others, yet still blended into the beauty of nature around it.

A cool breeze blew past the slope where Julian stood, carrying the scent of flowers from the earlier garden.

For a moment, Julian simply fell silent.

’...A good place.’

If he could choose a place to rest for a few years without having to worry about anything, perhaps this was the kind of place he would choose.

Unfortunately...

’...This is the home of the Dragons.’

It would be nice if humanity had something like this.

While imagining the peaceful and pleasant life that could unfold in a place like this, Julian was snapped back when he saw several figures suddenly appear and land softly right in front of him.

Their gazes looked friendly toward Garph, but when they looked at Julian, their faces creased with confusion and held hostile emotion.

Of course, it was not going to be that easy.

"Elder Garph! Welcome back, but... Who are they? Why is that lowly creature here in—"

"Silence."

Garph raised his hand and asked them all to be quiet. In an instant, absolute silence took over the surroundings.

Other Dragons who noticed this began to gather curiously.

Julian could not understand what they were discussing, but Monk helped him understand.

After a few moments, the Dragons seemed to have reached a conclusion and nodded, while Garph finally turned around.

"Let us go inside."