Chapter 186: From Clyne to Garph for Cleenah 2

’I will save the Qiezhuran, no matter how great a price I have to pay.’

Beneath the light of the moon, Cleenah recalled the decision she had made once again.

She knew how terrible the Qiezhuran’s situation was now. If everything continued as it was, it wasn’t impossible that a Clan that had endured for so long would meet its destruction.

And every time she thought of that possibility, Cleenah always remembered someone.

’Lady Clyne...’

The Dragon who had been like a mother to her, the one who had once pulled her out of a life so dark and given her a place to return to.

To Cleenah, Clyne wasn’t just the previous Clan Leader. She was the one who had given her so much, including the life she was living now.

But in the end, Clyne had died.

Before Cleenah even had the chance to repay all her kindness, she had already had to take on the responsibility of being the Clan Leader of the Qiezhuran.

And now, the place Clyne once protected was in danger.

How could Cleenah let that happen?

That was why she had already made a decision on her own. No matter what happened, she had to save the Qiezhuran, even if she had to do it without the help of Garph or anyone else.

But to carry out that plan, Cleenah needed something.

Power. Yes, she needed power.

At the very least, she needed one power capable of making a great impact when the time came.

Unfortunately, gaining power wasn’t something easy for her.

"Haa... Haa..."

Cleenah’s breathing sounded heavy.

The little Dragon girl stood in one part of her residence’s garden. Her clothes were already slightly damp with sweat, while her body kept trembling as she tried to circulate Mana.

Pain quickly spread throughout her body.

"...Ugh!"

Cleenah gritted her teeth, trying to maintain that flow of Mana for as long as she could.

But only a few moments later, she was forced to stop.

"Haa... Haa..."

Her body bent forward slightly, while one hand moved to support herself.

’...Failed again.’

Cleenah tried to steady her breathing.

In truth, her body had been in terrible condition ever since she received Clyne’s Eyes of Essence.

Those eyes were too powerful for her body, and that incompatibility affected nearly every aspect of her life.

Even just to move or breathe, Cleenah sometimes had to endure pain that was hard to describe.

All the more so when she used Mana.

For Dragons, circulating Mana was something completely natural. They had strong bodies, extraordinary talent, and innate abilities that made them far superior to most other races.

But that no longer applied to Cleenah.

Before receiving the Eyes of Essence, her talent had actually been quite good. She wasn’t an extraordinary genius, but at least she hadn’t needed as much effort as she did now just to learn a Skill.

Now, even small progress required very long training.

Something other Dragons might learn in a short time sometimes took her many times more effort.

And every time she failed, Cleenah had to bear the same pain.

’...Once more.’

After her breathing improved a little, Cleenah straightened her body again.

She began to circulate Mana, trying to train the Skill she had been learning all this time.

But the moment the flow of Mana formed, pain struck her body again.

Cleenah almost lost her balance.

Even so, she kept trying to hold on, maintaining her concentration for a few moments before she was finally forced to stop.

"...Haa."

This time, it took her longer to recover her breath.

Her small body was already exhausted, but Cleenah had no intention of ending the training yet.

After all, she was already used to a situation like this.

And as long as there was even a small chance of success, Cleenah didn’t want to stop trying.

***

"That’s... Lady Cleenah?"

Julian lowered his voice a little when he realized who was in the garden.

From where he stood, he could see Cleenah training alone beneath the moonlight.

The girl looked extremely exhausted, and even just maintaining her standing posture seemed to take considerable effort.

But a few moments later, she tried to circulate her Mana again.

Julian didn’t know what Skill Cleenah was training. Even so, seeing the state of her body, he could understand that the training was by no means easy.

"...That’s right, Lord Julian."

Garph answered in a low voice.

The old Dragon kept watching Cleenah from a distance, apparently not wanting their presence to be noticed.

"Lady Cleenah has been doing this for a long time. I first saw it by chance."

"...For a long time?"

"Yes. Even now, I have never asked why she does it."

Julian looked at the garden again.

Cleenah, who had been resting, now began to continue her training. But not long after, the girl was forced to stop again because of the pain.

’...Isn’t that too much?’

Julian had some difficulty understanding it.

He knew that Cleenah had a poor physical condition, but he hadn’t imagined that merely using Mana could cause her that much difficulty.

What’s more, the girl already looked extremely exhausted.

Why was she still continuing the training?

"As the leader of the Qiezhuran, Lady Cleenah naturally understands the importance of strength," Garph spoke again. "Especially for a race like us Dragons."

Julian listened without interrupting.

"But although I don’t know her real reason, I don’t want to disturb her efforts. That’s why, every time I see her train, I only watch from a distance."

Garph fell silent for a moment.

"I hope that one day, her efforts will bear fruit."

Julian began to understand why the old Dragon was here in the middle of the night.

It seemed Garph had already watched Cleenah train several times without her knowledge.

And even though he had the chance to stop her, Garph chose not to.

’...I see.’

Julian thought again about the problem that had filled his head earlier.

Cleenah was the Clan Leader of the Qiezhuran, but her strength was still only at Rank-B.

Even compared to other Dragons, her physical condition was far worse.

Seeing her small and fragile appearance, it was hard to imagine that the girl was carrying such a heavy responsibility.

But thinking about it again, wasn’t Cleenah actually quite remarkable?

With a body in such a state, she still managed to carry out her duties as Clan Leader.

Even when Julian met her several times throughout the day, Cleenah had always taken the time to greet him before continuing her work.

And now, when she should have been resting, she was in the garden training instead.

’...She really works hard.’

Julian didn’t know what Cleenah was thinking, or the true reason behind her training.

But seeing her efforts, he began to feel that the girl was far stronger than she looked.

At least in terms of perseverance.

Unfortunately, that only made Julian’s problem more complicated.

He still wanted to leave the Dragon World as soon as possible. But after learning of the Qiezhuran’s situation and seeing how Cleenah struggled to hold her Clan together, Julian found it even harder to decide what he should do.

’...Damn it.’

Julian hadn’t expected that his wish to return to his original world would lead him into a situation like this.

And as he was still thinking about it, Garph suddenly opened his mouth again.

"Lord Julian, do you know?"

"...Hm?"

Garph didn’t continue right away.

His gaze was still fixed on Cleenah, but this time it seemed he was remembering something that had happened quite a long time ago.

"Lady Clyne once left me a letter."

"...A letter?"

"Yes, I received it some time before she died."

Julian looked at the old Dragon a little more closely.

He had heard about Clyne, the previous leader of the Qiezhuran who had a very close relationship with both Garph and Cleenah.

But this was the first time Garph had spoken of a letter Clyne had left.

"At first, I didn’t understand the meaning of that letter," Garph continued calmly. "She wrote so many things about our childhood, even some incidents I had almost forgotten."

Garph still remembered it clearly.

Clyne had written about the days when they were young, when she, Garph, and Mercer often spent time together.

There were stories about their friendship, various events that had once been considered important, and some simple things that had actually passed long ago.

The way Clyne wrote them was also very cheerful.

So cheerful that Garph had been confused.

Why had Clyne suddenly sent a letter like that?

Even as he read it, Garph had had a rather silly thought.

Could it be that Clyne wanted to marry Mercer soon and begin keeping her distance from their friendship?

If that were so, couldn’t she have just said it in person?

Garph truly hadn’t understood what she meant.

But the further he read, the more different the contents of the letter became.

The stories about their childhood began to turn into words of gratitude.

Clyne thanked them for the time they had spent together, for Garph’s help, and for a friendship that had lasted so long.

At first, Garph had still tried to take all of it as something ordinary.

But then he read the lines that followed.

And at that moment, he began to feel that something wasn’t right.

"...The letter turned into a farewell," Garph said slowly.

"When I read it, I didn’t understand why Lady Clyne wrote such things. It felt as though she already knew something terrible might happen to her."

Garph recalled the lines he had read long ago.

"Thank you for everything."

"I hope you’re always happy. I hope you live a long life."

Very simple lines.

But after Clyne truly died, Garph finally understood why that letter had felt so different.

It really had been a farewell.

Something he hadn’t wanted to believe before, but which in the end had truly come to pass.

"And in the last part of the letter, Lady Clyne left a request for me."

Garph looked at Cleenah again.

The little girl was still beneath the moonlight, trying to continue her training even though her body was already exhausted.

"She asked me to remain at Lady Cleenah’s side. To help her, support her, and make sure she wouldn’t have to face everything alone."

Garph’s voice grew even lower.

"Lady Clyne said that Cleenah was a very fragile girl. She might try to do everything on her own, but in truth, she needed someone who could keep supporting her."

Garph paused for a moment, recalling the final line of that request.

"If one day I left her alone, Lady Clyne feared that Cleenah would not be able to endure."

That was the last request Clyne had left him.

And since then, Garph had never forgotten it.

"...That is why I always try to remain at Lady Cleenah’s side, Lord Julian."