Heretic Trainer: The Gym Is My Cultivation Method-Chapter 370: The Dragon Princess Who Ran

Dahlia took another breath and straightened her shoulders.

"Okay," she said. "Then let me tell you what my clan actually is."

Everyone stayed quiet.

"My clan is one of the Grand Clans," Dahlia continued. "It’s called the Draconia Clan."

A few eyes widened.

"Draconia?" Valtor repeated. "As in... dragons?"

Dahlia nodded. "Yeah. Dragon cultivators."

She pointed to herself. "So my real name is Dahlia Draconia."

Rynor whistled again. "Damn. That sounds strong."

Clara giggled. "Princess Dragon. That fits you way too well."

Garion crossed his arms, thinking. Then his eyes lit up slightly.

"...That explains a lot," he said.

Dahlia glanced at him. "What does?"

"The dragon-type potion," Garion replied. "The one I made from the Dragon Tongue Herb."

He looked genuinely interested now. "Back in that village, it worked unusually well on you."

He snapped his fingers once. "Now it makes sense."

Dahlia smiled faintly. "Yeah. I remember."

She nodded. "That potion boosted me way more than it should have."

"And your physique," Garion added. "Your recovery, your explosive output, your affinity for heat and pressure."

He looked her up and down once, more like a trainer than anything else.

"It’s already leaning toward a dragon-type build," he said. "I just didn’t have the full picture yet."

Dahlia nodded again. "You weren’t wrong."

Seira finally spoke. "...So that’s why."

Ragric clicked his tongue. "Tch. A dragon clan princess hiding in a backwater area."

Garion’s expression turned serious again.

"But still," he said, "that doesn’t answer the biggest question."

He looked straight at her.

"How were you in that village?"

Dahlia didn’t answer immediately.

"You could say," she said slowly, "my situation is similar to the twins’."

Rynor blinked. "Us?"

Rynar frowned. "What do you mean?"

Dahlia turned toward them. "Your parents died because of family problems, right?"

The twins stiffened.

"...Yeah," Rynar said.

"And after that," Dahlia continued, "Elder Rachel became your stepmother."

Rynor nodded quietly.

Dahlia held their gaze. "For you, that was already painful."

She paused.

"But in a Grand Clan," she said, "it’s worse."

The air felt heavier.

"My father is the patriarch," Dahlia said. "The strongest man in the Draconia Clan."

A few people sucked in a breath.

"But my mother," Dahlia continued, her voice steady, "was just a maid."

Silence fell.

The twins’ expressions darkened.

"...I get it," Rynor muttered.

Rynar clenched his fists. "Yeah. I really get it."

Dahlia nodded. "In a clan where strength and bloodline are everything, someone like her..."

She stopped for a second, then forced herself to continue.

"She was never treated like family," Dahlia said. "And neither was I."

Rachel’s hands tightened slightly at her sides, but she didn’t interrupt.

"They never said it out loud," Dahlia went on. "But everyone knew."

She gave a humorless smile. "A maid’s child. Even if my blood was pure on my father’s side."

Ragric frowned. "So they looked down on you."

"Yes," Dahlia replied. "And they used me."

She looked at the twins again.

"At least you were given a chance to leave," Dahlia said. "In my clan, leaving wasn’t an option."

Rynar’s jaw tightened. "So you ran."

Dahlia nodded slowly. "I ran before they could decide my future for me."

She looked back at Garion.

"That village wasn’t random," she said. "It was far enough that no one important would look."

Garion listened without interrupting.

"I thought I could disappear," Dahlia said. "Just train. Just live."

She smiled faintly. "Then I met a crazy man who talked about muscles and effort like it was the most important thing in the world."

Valtor laughed. "That’s him."

Garion snorted. "Hey."

Dahlia looked around at all of them.

"So yeah," she said quietly. "That’s my clan. That’s why I was there."

No one spoke for a moment.

Then Rachel stepped forward and gently placed a hand on Dahlia’s shoulder.

"You did well," she said softly.

Dahlia let out a slow breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

She looked up and gave Rachel a small, sincere smile.

"Thank you, Elder Rachel."

Rachel returned the smile gently and gave her shoulder a light squeeze before stepping back, giving her space.

For a moment, the group stayed quiet.

Then Dahlia blinked, as if something had just clicked in her head.

"...Wait," she said.

She turned and looked straight at Garion.

"By the way, Master," Dahlia continued, tilting her head, "what about you?"

Garion paused.

Dahlia crossed her arms, eyes sharp but curious rather than accusing.

"You were in that village too," she said. "With your knowledge. Your way of training. Your understanding of the body."

She waved a hand lightly. "There’s no way you’re just a normal person."

Rynor nodded. "Yeah. That’s true."

Rynar frowned. "You knew way too much from the start."

Clara leaned forward. "And you talk like nothing in this world surprises you."

Seira glanced at Garion briefly. "...You are strange."

Rachel’s eyes widened slightly.

She looked at Garion more carefully now, as if seeing him from a new angle.

"...That’s true," she said softly. "We don’t actually know much about you."

The disciples exchanged looks.

Their master.

The man who built a sect from nothing.

The man who shattered a Demon Gate and casually stood before a Grand Clan.

They knew his methods. His discipline. His strength.

But not his past.

Garion scratched the back of his head.

"...Huh."

He hadn’t expected that question.

Inside his head, thoughts raced.

How the hell do I explain this?

I can’t just say I’m from another world, right?

He opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"...This is a bit..."

"Because Master is an otherworlder."

The words came from behind.

Everyone froze.

Garion’s head snapped around. "What?"

Arden and Dion were standing there, having just walked up.

Arden looked calm as always. Dion wore a relaxed smile, hands in his pockets.

Dahlia’s eyes widened. "An... otherworlder?"

Garion stared at Arden and Dion.

"How the hell do you know that?" he demanded.

Arden tilted his head slightly. "Master, did you forget?"

Garion frowned. "Forget what?"

Arden adjusted his glasses. "Eldrin told us."

"...Eldrin?" Garion repeated.

"The Azure Dragon," Arden said. "He told you. And us."

Dion nodded. "Yeah. You didn’t even try to hide it back then."

Garion’s face stiffened.

Then his shoulders slumped.

"...Damn it," he muttered.

He rubbed his face with one hand. "I really forgot about that."

The disciples stared at him.