Dragon Clan: Lu Mingfei Returns from Japan

Chapter 724 The Book of Raziel and the Resurrected Saintess (Part 1)
It seems that the school board member is not as aloof and detached from worldly affairs as one might imagine; she also gets nervous when boys touch her cheeks and lift her chin.

But Lu Mingfei wasn't deliberately flirting with Elizabeth; he just wanted to remind the school board member not to joke about such things in the future.

He was unaware that Elizabeth's negotiations were always tailored to the individual. It was only when facing him that she used this kind of thing as a bargaining chip for the first time.

However, a major obstacle facing Yokogaki was resolved so smoothly. Lu Mingfei had originally thought that obtaining the school board vote from Elizabeth would be very difficult, requiring overcoming numerous obstacles, if not countless trials. Unexpectedly, a cooperation agreement was reached with the school board member in the time it takes to eat a meal.

Of course, Lu Mingfei also knew that Elizabeth's trust in him was not without reason.

Because he did indeed demonstrate enough strength for Elizabeth to bet on him... In the skirmish against the second Samson, he not only escaped unscathed, but even defeated him head-on.

The world of mixed-race people is cruel and realistic, and it has always been a world where the principle of meritocracy prevails.

It's not about adhering to Spencer's social Darwinism, but rather the unique nature of their group. They exist between dragons and humans, teetering on the edge of reality and fantasy. They cannot embrace humanity, yet they share an inescapable, life-or-death destiny with dragons.

Only those who are qualified to stand before the Dragon King can lead the hybrid race to victory time and time again in this battle that has dragged on for thousands of years.

This is probably why Kassel College has never abolished the Freedom Day. The past student council presidents and Lionheart Society presidents are considered outstanding leaders among the hybrids, and their members will be the backbone of the future struggle against the dragons. The Freedom Day is, in fact, a training ground deliberately reserved for them by Kassel College.

Returning to the course entrance in a golf cart, the Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit was already waiting at the door. A girl in a driver's uniform stood by the driver's side door, her right hand on her left shoulder, bowing and smiling: "Miss Lisa said that the traffic in this area is not very convenient, and instructed me to take Mr. Lu back."

Thinking that the school board chairwoman had just been teased by him, yet still remembered her manners and had her subordinates escort him home, Lu Mingfei thought to himself that Elizabeth was indeed quite capable, managing to reorganize and clean up the previously chaotic Laurent family within a few years.

The Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit dropped Lu Mingfei off at a stop a block away from his rented apartment complex.

This was at Lu Mingfei's behest. Although he was currently in the capital, where it's said that even a brick falling from the wall could hit a Lamborghini or Ferrari, having a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit, which had been discontinued for over a decade, drive him home was still a bit too conspicuous.

More importantly, Lu Mingfei didn't tell Liu Miaomiao and Xia Mi that he was going on a date with the pretty female school board member... oops, I mean, for afternoon tea. He just said there was something going on at the academy. If they saw him, explaining it would be a little troublesome.

For the sake of family harmony, Lu Mingfei still chose to walk a few more steps.

However, before he even reached his doorstep, Lu Mingfei heard a commotion inside the house.

The heightened senses of a mixed-race individual allowed Lu Mingfei to hear the girls' laughter even through the well-insulated security door. Besides his girlfriends' voices, Lu Mingfei also seemed to faintly hear the voices of other girls—voices that weren't entirely familiar, but weren't exactly strangers either.

"..."

Lu Mingfei hesitated for a moment, then took out his key, inserted it into the lock, and turned it open. The boisterous laughter instantly stopped with the sound of the lock turning. Only the sound of a variety show was still playing from the television speakers.

As Lu Mingfei entered, he looked into the living room, and the girls' gazes met his at the same time. The living room, which was originally quite spacious, was now crowded with people. Liu Miaomiao, Xiaotiannv, Chen Wenwen, and Xia Mi were sitting on the sofa. Aki and Erii were also there, which was not too surprising to Lu Mingfei.

Erii was supposed to come visit her junior sister Xiaotiannu and the others on weekends, and Aki had already texted him to say that she was coming to his house.

But besides them, there were actually other girls...

Well, it's normal for Ms. Sakura to appear at Erii's house as her temporary guardian and driver.

Zero? After all, they're just neighbors living downstairs. Occasionally dropping by is a way to keep the neighborhood in good order.

"But... why are you here, Charlotte?" Lu Mingfei looked at the petite girl holding a cane and sitting upright on a single sofa, and couldn't help but ask.

Those emerald-green eyes blinked at Lu Mingfei, then suddenly revealed a somewhat indignant expression: "What do you mean by 'just'? It feels like you're using a very disrespectful process of elimination in your head..."

"Mingfei, please be nicer to the guests."

At this moment, Su Xiaoqiang spoke up, "Charlotte also came to our house with Erii. We were just talking about you when you came back."

"You're talking about me? What is it?" Lu Mingfei changed his shoes and entered the room.

"Miaomiao is very curious about how you and Charlotte met. Charlotte said that you approached her at the airport entrance."

Su Xiaoqiang nodded at this point: "Hmm... I can only say that it's very much in line with your style, Mingfei."

The other girls nodded in agreement, their expressions showing deep conviction.

"..."

What do you mean by "having my own style"? Why do you make it sound like I'm the kind of biker gang member who randomly flirts with girls on the street and whistles at them?
Lu Mingfei felt that his honest and simple image was being increasingly tarnished.

Xia Mi smiled, her eyes narrowing. "Oh, right, Senior Brother, you're back just in time. We were just deciding to have hot pot together at home tonight~"

Of the girls, only Xia Mi knows how to cook. Chen Wenwen can also cook some simple home-style dishes and can help Xia Mi with chopping vegetables. Liu Miaomiao and Su Xiaoqiang are both girls who grew up in luxury, so naturally they lack cooking skills.

Liu Miaomiao and Su Xiaoqiang naturally felt a little guilty about making Xia Mi cook for them every day. Plus, Xia Mi was now in the preparatory class for the first year of high school, so she had more classes than them.

So, the night before last, while they were in bed, Liu Miaomiao and Su Xiaoqiang suggested to Lu Mingfei that they buy a larger induction cooker so they could occasionally cook some hot pot or something, thus saving Lu Mingfei and Xia Mi from having to cook every day.

They weren't idle either; they volunteered to buy cookbooks and slowly learned to cook.

I just bought the induction cooker and the matching hot pot yesterday, and I didn't expect to use them today.

Lu Mingfei replied, "Want some hot pot? Sure." Xia Mi nodded, "Yeah, but it'll be a bit of a hassle for you, Senior Brother, to go out and buy groceries again."

Lu Mingfei was stunned for a moment. So, what his junior sister meant by "coming back at the right time"?
If it were the old Lu Mingfei, he probably would have argued with Xia Mi a bit and asked why she didn't go. But now, Lu Mingfei has gotten used to working hard without complaint. After all, his girlfriends serve him diligently at night, so it seems fair that he serves them during the day, right?
"What do you want to eat? Discuss it and send it to me via text message," Lu Mingfei said as he walked towards the door.

Xia Mi said, "Okay. Senior brother, remember to buy hot pot base, but don't make it too spicy."

But at this moment, Charlotte spoke up: "Are you going to the supermarket to buy groceries? I'll go with you. I happen to be interested in the supermarkets that ordinary people in China usually shop at."

Lu Mingfei couldn't help but complain, "I'm really sorry, this is a supermarket that only ordinary people would shop at."

Putting aside the matter of ordinary people, Lu Mingfei hadn't yet remembered that Charlotte was actually a "school board member's daughter" from a noble family.

The two went out. Charlotte followed beside Lu Mingfei, and footsteps and tapping sounds echoed in the stairwell.

After walking for a while, Charlotte suddenly spoke up: "You want to see the Book of Raziel?"

Lu Mingfei paused for a moment, turned his head to look at Charlotte beside him, and after a few seconds he remembered that the Book of Raziel was the dark alchemy notebook that he had mentioned to Aki a few days ago when they were talking about the Holy Maiden Medical Society and "Bluebeard" Giles de Rais.

Not knowing why Charlotte suddenly brought this up, Lu Mingfei asked Charlotte, "How did you know?"

“Aki wrote another application to Norma a couple of days ago, wanting to borrow a photocopy of the Book of Raziel. Since Aki can borrow it directly from the library if she wants to read it, there is no need to borrow it. So I guess it's because you want to read it.”

Charlotte said, "The borrowing privilege for a photocopy of the Book of Raziel is A+ level. Aki barely meets the borrowing requirements, but her tutor is Professor Mance Rundstedt, and her major field is Magic Mechanics, which should be elemental alchemy rather than biological alchemy. It's already a special permission from me to be able to borrow the Book of Raziel from the library; Norma's approval wouldn't be possible for an external loan application."

Lu Mingfei didn't expect that after that day, Aki would try to borrow "The Book of Raziel" from Norma again after he mentioned wanting to read it.

He remembered what Charlotte had said at home earlier: "So what you said about being interested in ordinary supermarkets was just an excuse? You just wanted to find an opportunity to tell me about it."

Charlotte nodded and said, "Walls have ears. It doesn't matter if you, Aki, or Rosella hear these things. But that Miss Yabuki Sakura is, after all, a member of the Japanese branch. The relationship between the Secret Party and the Japanese branch has always been ambiguous."

Stepping out of the building, I saw a group of shirtless old men playing chess under the old elm tree downstairs. The intense summer sunlight shone through the gaps in the trees, casting dappled shadows on the two men.

She paused for a moment: "Why do you want to read the Book of Raziel? Do you want to study bio-alchemy in the future?"

"Do you have a way to borrow the Book of Raziel?" Lu Mingfei asked. From Charlotte's tone, it sounded as if she could help him borrow the book.

Charlotte didn't answer directly. The two continued walking slowly towards the supermarket, whispering to each other in a voice so quiet only they could hear:

"The Book of Raziel mainly records human alchemy, which is a research direction that has been banned in modern times. There is no need to consult the Book of Raziel to study bio-alchemy."

“I want to know about Giles de Rais.” After hesitating for a moment, Lu Mingfei decided to tell Charlotte the truth.

However, Charlotte didn't show any surprise after hearing this. Instead, she nodded slightly, as if to say, "I knew it."

"You want to know about the 'Saintess Medical Association,' right?" Charlotte said. "After all, the names of the Holy Palace Medical Association and the Saintess Medical Association are too similar, so it's hard not to make connections. This is actually one of the directions I'm currently investigating."

Father Bernardo is suspected of having had close contact with the Holy Palace Medical Association, and before his death, he left Lu Mingfei with a mysterious symbol that appears to be the emblem of the Holy Palace Medical Association.

After Father Bernardo's death, the Kassel College would naturally investigate him, so Lu Mingfei was not surprised that Charlotte also knew the name of the Holy Palace Medical Society.

Moreover, Charlotte is the current head of an ancient mixed-race family, and her understanding of the various forces in the mixed-race world is definitely far greater than his.

Charlotte continued, "However, there's one thing that might disappoint you. The connection between the 'Saintess Medical Society' and the 'Saint Palace Medical Society' might not be as strong as you think. 'Saintess Medical Society' is a French word, and in French, 'Saint Palace' and 'Saintess' are two completely different words. It's only after being translated into Chinese that the connection between the two names becomes apparent."

Lu Mingfei nodded: "I've thought about this too. However, Gilles de Rais also studied alchemy related to human blood in order to resurrect Joan of Arc. That's why I think this might be a direction for investigation."

“You’re not wrong. In the Book of Raziel, there are indeed experiments that use ‘humans’ as containers to filter out the toxins in dragons and inject pure dragon blood into the test subjects, giving them power similar to that of dragons. This is somewhat similar to the experiments Bernardo conducted back then.”

"It's pretty crazy. Bernardo wanted to rely on the blood of dragons to gain the power of immortality; Gilles de Rais was even crazier to the point of wanting to resurrect Joan of Arc... Are all those who study alchemy crazy?"

As soon as Lu Mingfei uttered this exclamation, he realized that he seemed to have offended someone.

His gaze shifted slightly to the petite figure beside him, whose emerald-like eyes were staring at him with resentful, deadpan eyes.

Lu Mingfei quickly added, "I meant researching human alchemy..."

"Tch..." Charlotte scoffed.

The wooden cane tapped loudly on the bluestone slabs of the capital. Many people passing by couldn't help but glance at this somewhat odd pair.

Beijing is not short of handsome men and beautiful women, nor is it short of foreigners, but the combination of a handsome Chinese man and a little foreign girl is still quite rare. What's even more unusual is that this blonde, green-eyed foreign girl speaks fluent Chinese.

Charlotte suddenly said, "But there's a theory that Gilles de Rais actually succeeded... He really did manage to resurrect Joan of Arc."

……

(End of this chapter)