Back in the village's prison cell below the administrative building.

Cold water splashed across Vaelen's face with a sharp SPLAT.

He lurched upright with a strangled gasp, eyes snapping open as droplets streamed down his hair and jaw.

He looked around wildly—stone walls, dim lanterns, faint runes glowing from carved roots overhead. The bed beneath him was solid wood, and the air was cool.

There were people in the room.

A lot of people.

A man with black hair and gold eyes leaned forward lazily, holding an empty bucket.

A beautiful vampiric woman with wings rested her chin in her hands, watching him as if this were an amusing show.

A calm, bird demihuman girl stood nearby.

A brown-haired human woman with a clipboard tucked under her arm raised a brow.

And one unknown man stood behind them, his reverent gaze fixed on the black-haired man.

Vaelen blinked rapidly.

"Wh—What… What is…?"

He couldn't remember anything, but that was only for about a few seconds before the memories slammed into him.

The forest path.

The crushing aura.

The silhouette that demanded his purpose.

Then, finally, a single word—Sleep.

His jaw tightened. He swallowed dryly.

"I…" he lifted both hands slowly, his palms up, his stance defensive. "I don't mean any harm. Truly. If—if you're dissatisfied with having a human in your village, I'll go. Immediately. You don't need to threaten me. Or knock me out. I'll leave."

He scanned their faces, searching for even a sliver of sympathy.

Then his eyes landed on Kael.

A human-looking man.

He hadn't even looked at Alenia or Dairan because anyone's attention would be pulled to the one who was the best-looking, and Kael always got 10/10 in that department.

Hope sparked desperately across Vaelen's expression.

"You!" He pointed. "Fellow human! Please—convince them. I want to leave. I was trapped in another beast's village for days—weeks, maybe—enslaved by a Dryad. I only escaped by sheer luck. I don't want trouble, I don't want conflict, I only want—"

"Lyratheia's village," Alenia interrupted quietly.

Vaelen flinched as if struck.

Kael raised a brow. "Oh? So that's who he ran from."

Evethra smirked. "He has interesting taste in enemies."

Vaelen stared between them all, jaw clenched. "You… you know her?"

Kael set the bucket aside and straightened.

"First thing," he said casually. "I'm not human."

His skin shifted first—scales blooming across his arms in liquid waves.

His eyes, which had always been dragonic, changed—vertical, golden, and predatory.

Dragonic wings unfolded behind him with a quiet fwump.

Vaelen's breath caught.

He tensed, hands twitching toward where his sword should've been.

"No need to get dramatic," Kael added. "I'm not going to eat you."

Vaelen gritted his teeth.

The others watched him silently—Evethra amused, Selene analytical, Darian worshipful, and Alenia simply tired.

"And second…" Kael continued, "We're friends with the lady you ran from."

The blood drained from Vaelen's face.

His mind raced.

'Do I run? Fight? Break the window? Jump? No… no aura… no huge monster… maybe the silhouette is gone? Maybe—'

He didn't know who they were or what beast they were serving. He couldn't even recall the features of the silhouette he had seen before, but he knew that if they knew that dryad, then there was a high chance that they would hand him over to her.

And he didn't want to return there.

He didn't want to be controlled like a puppet again.

Kael, on the other hand, sighed.

"You know…" he said casually, "your situation actually isn't bad."

Vaelen froze mid-thought, confusion replacing panic.

"…What?" He asked warily.

Kael rested a hand on his hip. "The people you've spent a month searching for? The fugitives. The 'dragon.' The demihumans."

He gestured lazily to himself.

"To put it simply, you found them."

Vaelen stared at him.

Then he stared harder.

He scanned Kael's features—the divine face, the black hair, the molten-gold eyes, and the draconic traces.

It was easy to mistake him for a dragon because his lizard-human-like features could be said to be dragonic.

He still didn't think that Kael was a dragon, but he was able to believe that Kael was the 'dragon' he was searching for.

After all, everyone who spoke of him said that he was divinely handsome, and only someone like him could be said to be that good.

Slowly… very slowly… he spoke.

"…So you are Kael."

"Yep."

It was too calm a response.

Too casual for someone supposedly terrifying.

Vaelen swallowed, not because he was scared of Kael but because he still didn't know what relation Kael and the other demihumans had with the silhouette he had seen before falling unconscious.

But since they were all in the same place, it was a possibility that Kael and the other demihumans in the town could be that silhouette's subordinates.

If Vaelen were to mess with them or try to attack them, then he would be indirectly going against the silhouette from before.

Kael stretched, rolling his shoulders once before folding his wing back in with an effortless snap.

"So," Kael said mildly, turning away and motioning toward the stairs, "come with me."

"…What?"

"I'm giving you a tour."

Vaelen blinked. Hard. Several times.

"A… tour," he repeated.

"Mm-hm."

Darian nodded reverently. "It is an honor, human."

Vaelen frowned. "Are… are you mocking me?"

Evethra snorted behind her hand.

Selene whispered, "This is going to be interesting…"

Alenia merely walked past him, muttering, "You aren't getting killed yet."

Kael glanced over his shoulder.

"Come on," he said, tone unbothered but somehow final. "I'll show you the town. It used to be a village not long ago. Might as well get you oriented before you decide whether you want to start running again."

The dragon then began climbing the stairs, his eyes flashing as he recalled the skill he saw in the guy's status window.

For now, however, he didn't make any plans for the guy because he still wasn't sure what type of guy he was.

That was why he was taking the guy on a tour.

And after a long moment of stunned silence…

Vaelen stood and followed.

............................

The wooden door creaked open, and warm, fading evening air slid across Vaelen's damp skin as he stepped into the open.

He froze.

The prison building sat atop a gentle rise, giving him a clear view of the town sprawled across a ring of interwoven roots.

Dying sunlight spilled over winding streets, bustling markets, and homes carved into ancient wood like living sculptures.

Kael walked ahead with the relaxed stride of someone on vacation, wings gone, posture loose, utterly unthreatening—except for the part where everyone they passed bowed respectfully.

"Lord Kael," a fox-kin blacksmith greeted, heat shimmering behind him as he hammered glowing metal.

Kael waved lazily. "Good work, Glander."

"Lord Kael!" A pair of harpy children swooped down, offered him roasted nuts, and flew off again.

He patted their heads without breaking pace.

Vaelen blinked hard.

'He's… popular?'

It was as if Kael were the leader of this town, which Vaelen found hard to believe.

'Maybe a puppet leader?' He wondered.

Evethra glided behind them, Selene walked with hands behind her back, and Alenia read something on her clipboard while weaving between people with practiced ease.

Vaelen stared at every face they passed.

These people weren't normal villagers.

They weren't even normal fighters.

They were mana users—every single one of them.

Just like Lyrathia, who had noticed it when she came here, Vaelen was the same.

He could feel the faint hum in the air—a density of mana he'd not even sensed near royal academies or elite guilds.

A random old mole-kin at the fruit stall had more stable mana than the average soldier in the capital.

"…What rank is he?" Vaelen whispered.

Kael glanced back. "That grandpa? E-rank."

Vaelen's jaw tightened.

E-rank.

Even the weakest fighter here, the common shopkeeper, was E-rank—strong enough to beat several trained F-rankers… who themselves could crush commoners.

"So this town…" Vaelen murmured, "It is a settlement of elites."

Kael shrugged. "People just got stronger. Happens when you feed them right."

Evethra flashed fangs in amusement. "And when you give them a lord who kills monsters for fun."

Kael threw her a look. "Not helping."

Vaelen's thoughts spun.

'It must be that creature. The silhouette I saw. That creature must be the one who is helping all of them grow, and also the one who's the real leader of this town.'

The idea made his heart race.

As for the idea that it was actually Kael? And that Kael might actually be a dragon?

He didn't even think about it.

They turned a corner, passing the training yard. Dozens of beast-folk sparred—young, old, slim, and bulky—each generating steady flows of mana with disciplined breathwork.

Darian bowed as they passed the trainee lines. "I can feel their breath similar to Lord Kael."

Kael, hearing that, raised a brow because no one had told Darian yet about how everyone in this part of the town had a breathing technique crafted by Kael.

'He must have superior senses.'

Valene, on the other hand, was trying to make sense of the situation.

'So he—Kael—is the subordinate of the silhouette… helping raise their forces.'

He'd never felt more out of place.

But the tour continued.

Past the herbal gardens, where female demihumans hummed quietly as they arranged blooming shrubs.

Past the crafting halls where bear-kin lugged iron and rabbit-kin inscribed runes.

Past the bustling heart of the market, where spices, fish, mana-infused fabrics, and monster hides were traded openly.

It was thriving.

Alive.

Safe.

Balanced.

Like a city protected by an invisible king.

Eventually, they reached the outer wall.

Massive root-woven battlements rose overhead, pulsing faintly with life and mana.

Beyond them stretched the Rugarda Great Forest: misty, ancient, and humming with unseen creatures.

Kael stopped walking.

Hands in his pockets.

Expression unreadable.

His golden eyes drifted toward the treeline.

Vaelen opened his mouth—but Kael spoke first.

"You don't believe that I'm a dragon, right?"

The question hit like a thrown dagger.

Vaelen stiffened, but the weeks of exhaustion and the strange honesty of this town wore down his caution.

He didn't know how or when, but he had started relaxing around this group, so for some reason, he didn't feel like lying.

His fate might already be decided by now, so no matter what he did, it was going to happen.

The least he could do now was be honest.

"…No," he admitted. "You look more like a… a mutated lizard-person. Someone who's good at pretending."

Selene stifled a laugh.

Evethra nearly choked.

Alenia sighed and rubbed her forehead.

Kael, however, didn't look offended.

If anything… he looked amused.

"I figured," he said, rolling his shoulders.

Then he lifted his chin.

A single crack sounded—

CRACK.

His neck twisted once, smoothly.

"Well," Kael murmured, golden eyes gleaming with a predator's light, "…time to show you how wrong you are."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.