Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

This is the top floor of Takamagahara. This renowned host club is housed in a rather imposing four-story Western-style building. The first floor is the heart of the glitz and glamour, with a huge stage and a surrounding dance floor, where lavish performances take place every night and where female guests spend lavishly and indulge in unrestrained revelry.

The second floor houses a spa center and a high-end beauty salon for guests to relax. The third floor features a kaiseki restaurant called Fujitsubo and a tranquil tea house, where most of the veteran and top-rated male hosts have their own luxurious private suites.

Newcomers like Basara King and Ukyo Tachibana, despite their soaring popularity, are still relatively inexperienced and can only remain in the basement for now.

More precisely, the dormitory they shared was that huge bathroom with three wooden tubs. This also explains their love for bathing; it was their only private space to relax and unwind.

The fourth floor is a forbidden area. Only those personally invited by the shopkeeper are qualified to set foot in this area. Within Takamagahara, the fourth floor has a nickname that carries a sense of awe—"The Sea."

Giant whales should, of course, inhabit the ocean.

At this moment, Lu Mingfei and his two companions were walking on this sea. The main color scheme of the entire floor was various shades of sea blue: the walls were deep indigo, the carpet was soft azure, the heavy curtains were pearly peacock blue, and even the porcelain displayed on the low tables along the corridor was a cool, clear blue.

Even the bald bodyguards' shiny scalps were covered with tattoos of various marine creatures: slow-moving turtles, colorful starfish, and menacing crabs. It was practically a living encyclopedia of the underwater world.

"My God, how much does the store manager love to show off that he's a whale?!" Lu Mingfei couldn't help but whisper to Chu Zihang next to him, "This decor style is practically taken directly from the set of 'Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea,' isn't it? Does he have to listen to whale calls to fall asleep every night?"

Before the last, exceptionally tall, carved, sea-blue wooden door adorned with mother-of-pearl and deep-sea pearls, Fujiwara Kansuke, who had been silently leading the way, stopped. Turning around, his imposing, mountain-like figure almost blocked out all the light from the porch.

He slowly raised his hand, making a "stop" gesture, his gaze sweeping over Caesar and Chu Zihang one by one, finally settling on Lu Mingfei's tense expression.

“Before the interviews begin, there’s something I need to tell you,” Fujiwara Kansuke began, his voice deep and resonant, carrying a seriousness completely different from his demeanor on the dance floor. He paused deliberately, emphasizing, “This isn’t me, as a staff member of this nightclub, lecturing newcomers, but as a senior who stepped onto this path before you.”

Senior? Lu Mingfei's eyes lit up, a small flame of hope instantly igniting in his heart. Could this seemingly fierce, mountain-of-meat demon senior actually be a hidden good person like Fingel? Would he secretly pull out a crumpled book, "300 Common Interview Questions for Store Managers and Standard Answers (Top Secret Internal Edition)," from the wide sleeves of his kimono?

"Senior, do you have a standard answer to teach us?" Lu Mingfei couldn't help but lean closer, lower his voice, and his face was full of expectation, as if he had the words "Give me a cheat sheet" engraved on his forehead.

Fujiwara Kansuke slowly and firmly shook his head, his muscular face remaining perfectly still: "There is no standard answer."

The small flame in Lu Mingfei's eyes went out with a "poof".

“The boss’s questions never have a standard answer.” Fujiwara Kansuke’s gaze swept over the three men, making sure they understood the weight of his words. “The manager never asks a question a second time. What’s even stranger is that the same answer might be correct when given by one person, but wrong when given by another.”

He paused, his thick palm pressed against his chest, which bore the inscription "Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain," and said in a deep voice, "The key is whether you are honest enough. Answer with the most authentic part of your soul, instead of racking your brains to think 'what he wants to hear.'"

"Honest! Aha, senior, you're right! We'll definitely be honest!" Lu Mingfei immediately patted his chest loudly, his face switching to an expression of "simple, naive, and grateful."

"The three of us smuggled ourselves into Japan penniless and stranded on the streets, almost starving and freezing to death. If it weren't for the shop manager's great kindness in taking us in, providing us with food and shelter, and even finding a doctor for us, we wouldn't have the comfortable life we ​​have today. If we weren't honest with the boss, would we still be human? Wouldn't we be scoundrels and bastards?!"

Lu Mingfei spoke with sincerity, his eyes even a little red, as if he was about to recite "A Grateful Heart" with tears streaming down his face at any moment.

Fujiwara Kansuke's chiseled face softened slightly, and he slowly nodded, acknowledging Lu Mingfei's awareness: "It's good that you have this awareness! If you want to impress the store manager, you have to show your true selves! The store manager once said that every interview is, for him, a collision between men and between hearts!"

After saying these resounding words, he stepped aside, making way for the passage to the sea-blue door, and bowed slightly: "Good luck to you!"

With the soft sound of a mechanism sliding, the last heavy, sea-blue door slowly opened inwards before them.

A fresh, slightly salty scent of seaweed, like a real seaside morning, mingles with the moist air and wafts towards you. At the same time, the clear, rhythmic sound of flowing water can be heard, splashing and gurgling, as if the door leads not to a room, but directly to a vast, undulating blue sea.

The sight behind the door made even the well-traveled Caesar hold his breath.

It is an extremely spacious circular hall. The most breathtaking thing is that the entire circular wall is actually a huge, transparent, ring-shaped aquarium that runs through the whole place!

Behind the thick acrylic glass, which is tens of centimeters thick, is a landscape that simulates the deep sea environment: colorful soft corals grow on the rugged rocks, long seaweed sways gently in the simulated ocean currents, and a green sea turtle the size of a millstone is slowly paddling its limbs to rise upwards.

Not far below it, a tiger shark, nearly two meters long with a sleek body and a dorsal fin like a knife, silently patrolled the hall with the indifference and elegance of an apex predator, its gray-blue figure flashing past in the dim light of the water.

Luxury, the ultimate luxury, with wildly imaginative flair.

Before entering this circular hall, Caesar felt that the fourth floor of Takamagahara was like a children's playground with an overly distinct theme; but the moment he stepped inside, he realized that this was a top-notch, luxurious, dreamlike aquarium designed for adults! No, perhaps it would be more accurate to call it a temple of the ocean.

The central hall was very spacious, covered with a deep blue carpet woven with silver wave patterns. On both sides were enormous bookshelves reaching the ceiling, filled with hardcover books in various languages. An extravagantly sized desk, carved from a single piece of ebony, was placed by the window.

In the most prominent spot in the lobby, where the lights were focused, sat a man as burly as a polar bear, the owner of the Takamagahara shop, "Whale".

He looked as if he had been pulled from the deep sea. His heavy, navy blue silk satin suit fit his robust frame perfectly, and his matching aquamarine cufflinks and shoes gleamed. On his left ring finger hung an enormous, almost exaggerated, aquamarine ring. A flamboyant brooch, carved from a single piece of red coral, adorned his chest.

He leaned back on a large, navy blue velvet sofa, a Churchill-sized cigar between his thick fingers, while his other hand gently stroked the fluffy, cloud-like fur of a prized Himalayan cat curled up beside him. On a low table beside the sofa sat a glass of spirits with ice cubes, the amber liquid shimmering with alluring, mesmerizing light as the ice refracted through the ice.

As expected of the man who controls this legendary nightclub, his domineering aura is almost tangible when he appears in private. He wears a pair of oversized brown sunglasses that almost cover half of his face, and his head is so shiny it's like a mirror, completely bare of hair, gleaming with a cold, hard glaze under the lights, exuding the air of a supreme underworld figure and a powerful tyrant.

If it weren't for the fact that on top of that bald, reflective head, there wasn't a lifelike, cartoon-style blue whale, spouting water, tattooed in indigo blue.

Lu Mingfei, Caesar, and Chu Zihang quickly exchanged glances, all seeing astonishment and heightened vigilance in each other's eyes. This shop manager's aura was simply too strange and unfathomable, somewhere between a late-stage chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) and an unfathomable psychopath—definitely not to be underestimated!

The manager didn't speak immediately. He simply raised the hand holding the cigar and pointed first to a black leather sofa by the door, big enough for three people to sit side by side. Then he pointed to the lone, low-backed single chair in front of him that looked like a trial bench.

The meaning couldn't be clearer: one person goes up for the interview, while the others wait on the sofa.

The knife and chopping board are ready; now it's just a matter of which piece of fish is willing to be the first to lie down on them.

Chapter 622 The Man's Flower Path (Part 1)

All three hesitated. This type of interview was a first for them, and none of them dared to say they were completely confident.

After a brief silence.

"I'm the most handsome, I'll go first," Caesar broke the silence. He took a deep breath, pushed his way through the crowd, and strode towards the single chair. Since he had decided to stay, he had no intention of leaving any room for negotiation.

Watching Caesar's retreating figure as he walked towards the "execution ground," Lu Mingfei let out a long sigh of relief, a sense of admiration rising within him: The boss truly lives up to his name, with an open heart and a willingness to sacrifice himself! This is the kind of Italian romantic madness inherited from the Gattuso family, going head-to-head with the shopkeeper's unfathomable Japanese chuunibyou madness! Who will emerge victorious is truly unpredictable.

Caesar had prepared meticulously for this interview. He arrived in full regalia, still wearing the same bright purple fitted suit that accentuated his physique, but underneath he had changed into a nearly transparent silver-gray silk shirt, which subtly outlined the contours of his chest and abdominal muscles under the light, and tied a black scarf adorned with tiny rhinestones.

From behind, the leggings perfectly accentuate her pert buttocks and long, powerful legs.

"Boss, you're really going all out," Lu Mingfei whispered in Chu Zihang's ear.

Chu Zihang's gaze followed Caesar's retreating figure as he replied in a low voice, "That's how the Gattuso family is. Once they've set their sights on a goal, they'll spare no effort, even resorting to unscrupulous means, to achieve it. That's what makes them so terrifying and memorable."

However, the shop manager completely ignored Caesar's meticulously prepared attire, enough to make the dance floor scream. He picked up a thick wolf-hair brush from the huge ebony desk, dipped it in rich ink, and began to write with lightning speed on a specially made gold-flecked Xuan paper. His posture was bold and expansive, his strength penetrating the paper, clearly that of a calligraphy enthusiast who had immersed himself in the art for many years.

The ink-stained Xuan paper was pushed onto the low table in front of the single chair, facing Caesar.

On the paper is a Chinese character, “道”, with rich ink, vigorous strokes, and a strong personal style.

The store manager spoke, surprisingly in fluent Chinese: "Basara King, my interview question for you is, what is the way of the male escort!"

The word "Tao" exploded in Caesar's mind like a bombshell. His eyes widened, and all the mental defenses he had prepared to deal with the sharp questions cracked instantly in the face of this one word.

He had imagined that the store manager would ask him about his motivation for working there, his mental qualities, and even how he handled certain special situations, but he never expected that the questions would be so metaphysical and almost philosophical!

What the hell? The Way of the Cowherd?! Caesar roared inwardly, "Is this an interview for a cowherd or an imperial examination for the top scholar?!" Should we also discuss "the self-cultivation of a cowherd" and "the value positioning of a cowherd in contemporary society"?

Seemingly sensing the bewilderment deep in Caesar's eyes, the shopkeeper took a puff of his cigar, slowly exhaling a cloud of smoke, and explained in his deep, magnetic voice, "In Japan, every profession has its own way. Tea has its way of tea, swordsmanship has its way of swordsmanship, and flowers have their way of flowers. Those who lack this way are merely lost sheep in the world. As for us,"

He pointed to the ground beneath his feet, as if pointing to the entire Takamagahara, “What we seek is the path to paradise that leads women to joy and solace. This is the art of men’s flower arrangement.” His gaze, through his brown sunglasses, locked onto Caesar, “Basara King, I’m asking about your flower arrangement.”

For a full half minute, Caesar sat in that low-backed chair, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he couldn't utter a single word. His prized eloquence, quick wit, and his ornate Italian rhetoric seemed utterly useless in the face of this simple yet profound question. He felt as if he had suddenly been thrown into a philosophical labyrinth without coordinates.

"Sorry, I didn't understand." In the end, Caesar gave up struggling and chose the most honest answer, admitting that his brain was indeed in a state of malfunction at that moment.

The store manager was neither surprised nor disappointed, but simply nodded slightly: "Then let me ask you something simpler."

He leaned forward slightly, the smoke from his cigar swirling around his face. "What do you think of women? To you, are women like spring breezes and summer flowers, or autumn fruits and winter snow?"

Lu Mingfei, sitting on the sofa behind him, was sweating profusely, all for Caesar. He thought to himself, if Caesar had a piece of frozen tofu in his hand right now, he would definitely slap it on his priceless forehead without hesitation and with all his might.

“Um, could you be a little more specific?” Caesar’s psychological defenses crumbled further in the face of this increasingly abstract question. He felt as if he wasn’t interviewing a gigolo, but rather participating in a Zen-like Q&A session with an Eastern mysticism master.

The store manager gently shook his head, his face displaying the typical expression of a seasoned professional looking at a clueless newbie—a mixture of tolerance and regret, as if silently saying: Basara King, your comprehension has disappointed me a little.

“Then, I’ll ask you in the simplest and most direct way.” The store manager’s voice returned to calm, but carried an even stronger sense of pressure. “Basara King, try to describe the word ‘woman’ to me in three sentences—no, I’ll allow you to use more. Not to refer to a specific girl, but to women, the hundreds of millions of women in this world as a whole.”

The problem has become more specific, yet also more expansive.

Caesar fell silent again. He leaned back in his chair, his gaze unfocused, piercing through the circular aquarium wall and landing on the distant, familiar horizon. A few seconds later, his tense shoulders suddenly relaxed.

“It doesn’t take three sentences,” Caesar began, his voice becoming deep and magnetic, with the air of a navigator recounting his ocean adventures, “only one word. The women of this world are all the sea.”

"Oh, it's all the sea?" The shop manager's eyebrows, hidden behind his sunglasses, seemed to twitch slightly; this answer was clearly somewhat unexpected.

“That’s right, the ocean.” Caesar’s eyes reflected the deep blue light of the artificial seawater tank. He continued, his tone becoming smoother. “Every girl is a unique ocean. Sometimes she is calm and gentle enough to embrace all your weariness, and sometimes she is a raging storm, showing you her unfathomable power and temper.”

"Some seas are like the frigid Barents Sea, with a surface covered in ice and biting winds, but if you dare to dive beneath the ice, you will find a vibrant life, with mysterious narwhals and ferocious orcas swimming around. Some seas are like the 'Cape Storm' at the southern tip of Africa, treacherous and unpredictable, with towering waves that have buried countless ships and sailors, but those courageous and skilled navigators know that as long as they can safely round that terrifying cape, ahead lies the golden sea route to the rich East."

Caesar smiled, a smile that only a man who has weathered storms could understand. "Of course, some girls are like the Caribbean Sea, warm and bright, full of tropical charm, beautiful and mysterious. But you have to be careful, that seemingly calm sea has never lacked pirates throughout history."

He paused, then looked at the shop manager: "Shop manager, do you enjoy boating? If you have extensive sailing experience, you'll probably understand what I mean."

The shop manager didn't answer immediately; he remained silent, his fingers gently stroking the soft back of the Himalayan cat.

A few seconds later, he slowly spoke, his tone much more solemn than before: "I have sailing experience of over two hundred thousand nautical miles. I think I understand what you mean. However, please continue, Basara King. About the sea, about navigators."

Caesar nodded, as if he had found a kindred spirit, or rather, an audience who could listen to his metaphors.

“Every sea in this world is completely different, with its own currents, colors, salinity, and the communities of life that live in it. Some seas give you a romantic and comfortable feeling, making you linger. Other seas may take your life and swallow everything you have.”

Caesar's gaze drifted into the distance. "But if you are a true seafarer at heart, someone who loves the ocean and yearns for adventure, you won't be content with just going back and forth safely in the warm and peaceful Indian Ocean. You'll crave the open ocean to witness the real storms and grandeur; you might even want to head north to challenge the ancient, unyielding ice sheet of the Arctic Ocean and see the desolate polar landscape."

"But no matter how many seas you've witnessed, both their beauty and danger, in the end, you'll probably still return to the sea you love most in your heart. At that time, you might trade your large, wind-crushing ship for a lighter, more agile boat, hoist a simple white sail, and slowly sail along the familiar and dear coastline. Every man is a sailor at heart. We are destined to witness the beauty and harshness of many seas first, but ultimately, we often only grow old on the sea we love most."

After he finished speaking, the hall fell silent. Only the low hum of the aquarium's circulation system and the occasional thud of the tiger shark's tail fin stirring the water could be heard.

Lu Mingfei was dumbfounded, with only one thought in his mind: although he didn't understand at all what this had to do with the way of the Cowherd, he just thought, "My God, it's so damn philosophical and so damn romantic! Boss, you're really wasting your talent by not writing poetry or becoming a nautical philosopher!"

The store manager was silent for a moment, then raised his hand, which was adorned with a huge aquamarine ring, and clapped three times gently and rhythmically.

“Well said, Basara King.” The manager’s voice didn’t reveal much emotion, but the oppressive pressure lessened somewhat. “Please return to your seat.”

Caesar secretly breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, nodded slightly to the shop manager, and then walked back to the sofa with composed steps, sitting down next to Lu Mingfei. Lu Mingfei secretly gave him a thumbs up.

Chapter 623 The Man's Flower Arrangement (Part 2)

The second person to sit in the "trial dock" was Chu Zihang. He was dressed in simple black clothes, with a long sword at his waist.

“Ukyo,” the store manager turned his gaze to Chu Zihang, his tone regaining the formality of an interviewer, “Just now, I asked Basara King a question. Now, I want to ask you about techniques.”

The second sheet of gold-flecked Xuan paper was pushed over, on which was a character "术" (shu) with flowing, powerful strokes and understated elegance.

"To achieve excellence in anything, you need to have the right principles in your heart and the right techniques in your hands," the shopkeeper said slowly. "So, what are the techniques of a gigolo?" He paused, then translated in more straightforward terms, "Simply put, it's about how to seduce women? How to make them willingly open their wallets for you, even become infatuated with you?"

Unexpectedly, Chu Zihang did not show any difficulty or contemplation. He did not look at the word "technique," but instead raised his calm, golden eyes to meet the shopkeeper's gaze.

“Through the past two days of internship, I have accumulated some preliminary experience and data,” Chu Zihang began. “I have conducted a rough analysis of the client groups I have come into contact with. In the two days, I have sat down at a table to drink with clients a total of 12 times, and I have met a total of 70 clients. The oldest is 39 years old, the youngest is 21 years old, and the average age is 27 years old. It is worth noting that 81% of them are married.”

He paused briefly, glancing in Caesar's direction: "In contrast, Basara King's clients are on average 24 years old, and the vast majority are unmarried. From this, we can infer that my clientele leans towards more mature women who may be facing marital or family issues."

"Good, Ukyo, you actually have such a talent for mathematical and statistical analysis!" The shopkeeper's face showed obvious surprise and admiration for the first time, and he unconsciously leaned forward. "Please continue!"

“When they come to Takamagahara, their purpose may not be just to seek thrills or alcoholism, but more to seek psychological comfort and an outlet for their emotions. My Japanese is limited, but with the help of the waiter's simple translation, I learned some basic information.”

Chu Zihang continued, “Of the 70 people I contacted, based on their scattered complaints and behaviors, at least 25 may have experienced varying degrees of domestic violence or emotional abuse, 30 had explicitly or implicitly mentioned their husbands having affairs or being unfaithful, and another 15 expressed extreme disappointment with their marital status, believing that the relationship was on the verge of collapse. Therefore, it can be basically concluded that I am dealing with a group of middle-aged women who feel depressed, disappointed, and insecure in their marriages or emotional relationships.”

He logically summarized: "Therefore, the role I need to play is somewhere between a trustworthy friend of the opposite sex and a silent, non-professional psychological listener. My main job at this stage is listening."