"Stop staring, have some water first."
Seeing the three of them so dazed while looking around his room, Julian couldn’t help but feel a little awkward. Alright, he had to admit—he might have gone a bit overboard.
They were all supposed to be here in the Hara Desert to search for treasures and explore. But his setup really did look more like a luxury vacation spot.
Seeing that their lips were cracked from dryness and their faces covered in flaking dead skin, Julian had Slowking pour them each a glass of water.
The moment they saw the water, their throats twitched instinctively. Without hesitation, they grabbed the glasses and started drinking.
Seeing them like this, just one cup clearly wouldn’t be enough.
So Slowking simply took out a full water barrel and placed it on the floor, letting them pour as much as they wanted.
The three of them ended up drinking nearly half the barrel. Their bellies were bulging before they finally stopped.
Julian was genuinely worried they might burst from drinking too much.
After hydrating, their spirits visibly improved. Inside the shelter made of Light Screens, free from the howling sandstorm outside, they could finally focus their attention on Julian.
They looked at the young man lounged lazily on the sofa—the one who had just saved their lives.
Though Julian hadn’t shown off in any way, the aura of someone groomed by a top-tier aristocratic family was unmistakable.
Walter: 'Which noble family is this young man from?'
Lucas: 'He looks kind of familiar…'
Lena: 'Wait a sec—isn’t that my husband?!'
Out of the three, only Lena recognized Julian.
"Hus—wait, no, you’re Julian! King Julian!"
Lena shrieked, her excitement making her look nothing like someone who was just on the brink of death.
'Hus- what?' Julian looked at the woman, wondering if she was trying to take advantage of him just now.
"Julian—you're really him!"
Now Lucas also realized who he was. No wonder his face seemed so familiar—it was Julian.
"Dad, this is Julian! King Julian! The real one!"
Lena clung to Walter’s arm, grinning like she’d just won the lottery.
Walter might’ve been old, but even he knew of Julian. With his daughter and son constantly mentioning the name, it was impossible not to.
"Eat something first. And recall your Pokémon," Julian said calmly, gesturing at the Rhyperior still waiting outside.
During the life-or-death moment, Walter had ordered his Rhyperior to leave, hoping it would survive—but the loyal Pokémon had refused to abandon its trainer.
Julian did admire that kind of bond. Though that wasn’t why he’d saved them.
He had his own reasons.
Walter finally remembered his Rhyperior was still outside and quickly recalled it into its Poké Ball.
Then he looked at Julian, as if wanting to speak but hesitating.
"Release it. There’s plenty of space here, and you can treat its injuries too," Julian said.
Walter nodded gratefully and immediately released his Rhyperior again, then took out healing potions and antidotes from his bag to treat it.
With that, its injuries were finally stabilized.
Once he finished tending to it, he recalled Rhyperior back into its Poké Ball. Then, full of gratitude, he said, "Young Master Walker, thank you for saving our family. These are all the treasures we found."
As he spoke, he dumped everything from his bag onto the floor.
Julian didn’t even glance at them. Instead, he asked, "Are you a local of Hara City?"
"Yes."
Walter nodded.
"How long have you been making a living in the Hara Desert?"
Just by looking at Walter and his children’s attire, it was clear they were trainers who scraped by in the desert—hunting for treasures to sell, sustaining their lives, and raising their Pokémon.
"More than fifty years," Walter replied.
Julian continued, "Then you must be very familiar with the Hara Desert?"
Though unsure why Julian was asking, Walter answered proudly, "Young Master Walker, my family has made a living in the Hara Desert for generations. I started venturing into the desert with my father when I was ten."
"When it comes to understanding this desert, no one can compare to me."
"Oh? Then how did you end up getting trapped in it?"
Julian had a knack for poking exactly where it hurt—just as Walter finished boasting, he immediately undercut him.
If not for the fact that Julian had just saved their lives, anyone would’ve snapped back at him.
Walter’s proud expression instantly stiffened.
A Level 8 sandstorm was indeed dangerous, but for someone with experience, it was entirely possible to avoid it in advance—especially since the Hara City authorities had sent out detailed alerts to everyone’s phones in advance.
Yet, under such circumstances, they had still nearly died inside.
"It was my fault," Lucas said with shame. "I didn’t want to leave behind the treasure we found and ended up delaying our departure."
He pointed at the item in question—a small piece of "flowing sand," shaped like rippling water but composed entirely of shifting grains.
It was an excellent material for Ground-type or Rock-type Pokémon, easily fetching at least 500 million at auction houses.
For ordinary trainers, risking their lives for such a treasure was understandable.
"Oh right," Julian said, "I still don’t know your names."
He’d been asking all the questions, but hadn’t even learned what to call them yet.
"Young Master Walker, just call me Walter—that’s what everyone knows me by. This is my son, Lucas Graves, and my daughter, Lena Graves. I call her 'Little Na.'"
Lucas and Lena looked to be in their early thirties, while Walter himself appeared around seventy—though his actual age was likely younger, given how harsh desert winds aged one’s appearance.
"Well, Walter, you said you started entering the Hara Desert with your father at ten?" Julian asked.
"Yes, the maps of the Hara Desert made by our Graves family are far more detailed than the ones sold outside. They’ve been passed down and refined over generations."
"Oh? So you even have maps of the core area?" Julian asked with a smile.
Walter’s proud expression once again stiffened. "That… we don’t have."
Julian was really pushing it now.
If their family had ever been capable of entering the core area, they would have to be at least someone at the peak of Elite-level. And if their family had produced someone that strong, no matter how useless later generations were, they wouldn’t be struggling like Walter was now.
"Just… the middle and outer layers," Walter said in a quieter voice.
As for the core area, his ancestors never had the ability to venture that deep. Their whole family had always wandered around the middle and outer layers. Occasionally, they might have tagged along with powerful teams that headed deeper into the desert, but they were always just extras—never the main force.
That said, Walter was still extremely familiar with the middle and outer layers. At least that part wasn’t a boast.
"Then having spent so many years in the desert, have you ever seen the Glossy Ganoderma?"
Julian asked casually, not really expecting them to know.
After all, something like the Glossy Ganoderma was so rare that even many aristocratic families had never heard of it—let alone ordinary trainers like Walter.
In fact, Julian himself had only learned about it recently from his grandfather.
"Never seen it," Walter shook his head as expected—but then added, "But my father did. He even took a photo of it. I still have it here."
As if afraid Julian wouldn’t believe him, Walter quickly pulled out a worn leather wallet from his pocket. Inside was an old, faded photograph—not black-and-white, but a color one that had lost much of its vibrancy over time.
*****
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