Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

Elvish.

Its silver pupils shone like the rising sun, and its magic exploded in the heart of the forest without harming a single blade of grass.

The golden halo suddenly spread to every treetop in the entire small world, then rapidly converged, forming a pale golden beam of light that descended from the sky, completely enveloping Erii.

Erii, holding Rilakkuma, knelt in the center of the beam of light.

At first, her expression was calm, but her body became a little warmer, as if she were basking in warmer sunlight than usual.

But a few minutes later, the first real wave of pain exploded from below her sternum. Her spine arched violently, her face drained of color in an instant, and sweat poured from every inch of her forehead and neck, soaking her long, deep red hair and wetting the Rilakkuma in her arms.

She could feel something growing inside her body—not a tumor, not a foreign object, but the part that truly belonged to her, which had been suppressed, repressed, and confined under the cage of the human genome map since birth.

Her bones were creaking, muscle fibers were being torn apart and then fused back together, and every blood vessel was throbbing at a speed far exceeding the limits of a human heartbeat. The bluish-black spiderweb that spread from her wrists to her upper arms began to spread toward her shoulder blades, faster than yesterday and more violent than any previous sign of loss of control.

Frillian didn't say "bear with it," she just maintained a steady output of magic power and gently pressed Erii's shoulder with her other hand.

She could feel every ripple of magical energy flowing within the small body beneath her palm, and sense the activated dragon genes irreversibly altering every synapse along the nerve bundles.

She can use magic to alleviate some of the pain, but some steps, especially neural remodeling and fusion of consciousness, cannot be done by any external force.

All she can do now is ensure that the girl, who is stubbornly clinging to Rilakkuma, does not lose control of her consciousness amidst the excruciating pain.

Cold sweat soaked through Erii's deep purple skirt, her lips began to tremble, and golden light washed over every vein in her body. Her consciousness was in chaos, and her breathing became increasingly rapid.

Voices that did not belong to any human being began to swirl in her mind.

Fear gripped her heart, and she began to tremble, her whole body shaking like a petal blown away by a gale.

“Think of someone worth remembering,” Frillie’s voice came from outside the beam of light, like a lighthouse that remained calm in a storm. “The person who brought you here—what was his name?”

Erii's sweat-drenched eyelids trembled in excruciating pain, and then she let out a very faint sound.

“Sakura”.

“He didn’t abandon you. He sent you here so you could live.” Frilian’s magic transformed into a warm current within Erii’s body, gently enveloping the nerve bundles that had been nearly shattered by the repeated assaults of the dragon’s consciousness. “He’s waiting for you outside.”

Erii's arms, which were holding Rilakkuma, no longer spasmed from fear.

With the last vestige of her sanity, she buried her face in the bear's fur, exhaling a muffled breath between her lips and teeth, and then she stopped fighting against the will within her that was trying to engulf her.

Because she believed in Frillie, she also believed in Lu Mingfei, and in the person who repeatedly told her "Don't be afraid" in the convertible sports car on a rainy night in Ebisu.

Her bones emitted a final, dense, crisp cracking sound as each vertebra, each rib, and each finger bone was simultaneously disassembled and reassembled.

Then all the pain stopped abruptly.

For the first time, the dragon blood that had been suppressed within her for countless days was released without reservation, freely, and throughout her entire body. Her body slowly softened, curling back into the quiet posture she had been in at the beginning, her deep red hair spreading out on the green grass, her breathing as steady as the sea after the tide had receded.

The beam of light gradually faded.

Frillian tapped her wand lightly on the ground, half-squatted down, and used her fingertips to brush aside Erii's wet hair that was stuck to her forehead, checking her pupils and pulse.

Erii's eyelids twitched, and then she slowly opened her eyes. In the deepest part of her pupils, which had once been stained crimson gold by judgment, a point of extremely soft and clear pale gold now shone.

Frillie nodded and withdrew her fingers from her pulse.

Erii looked down at her wrist, which was originally covered with black spiderweb-like veins.

The dark blue veins that had been entwined around her wrist since she could remember had completely disappeared, and her skin was smooth, pale, and warm—the kind of warmth a healthy human should have.

She paused for a few seconds, then picked up the notepad and pencil that she always kept in Rilakkuma's pocket and slowly, stroke by stroke, wrote something down.

"Can I go see Sakura?"

Chapter 836 The Tramp Finger

Late night, Kabukicho.

There were hardly any pedestrians or vehicles on the streets anymore; the continuous torrential rains had driven most of the city's pleasure-seekers back home.

Bars and nightclubs closed early, with signs reading "Closed Today" hanging on their roller shutters.

Only the most extravagant nightclubs still had their towering neon signs lit up, their giant colored lights stubbornly flashing in the rain like lighthouses refusing to go out in a storm. The humpback whale, of course, considered Takamagahara one of the most prestigious nightclubs in Kabukicho, and thus its neon signs stayed lit all night long.

Due to the heavy rain, the club has been closing early these days, and all the male escorts have returned to their dormitories. However, the welcoming staff still stand upright under the sign, wearing snow-white gloves, maintaining the decorum expected of a high-end nightclub.

A figure approached from the end of the street, looked up at the sign for Takamagahara, repeated the shop name several times, and suddenly a look of ecstatic joy at being saved appeared on his face.

"Um... I'd like to ask, is this Takamagahara? Do you accept male guests?" The foreigner, soaking wet, smoothed his hair and asked the waiter in fairly fluent Japanese.

The store was empty long ago. The waiters were just standing in front of the door to maintain the facade of a high-class nightclub like Takamagahara. They never expected that a customer would actually come in, and that he was a big, burly man.

The waiter looked the man up and down with suspicion. He was wearing a hoodie that was so worn that its original color was no longer recognizable, and jeans that hadn't been washed for days. His clothes were covered in oil stains, and his messy long hair was tangled with dirt. The man exuded a pungent smell from the inside out, a mixture of rainwater, sweat, and cheap fast food grease.

He was carrying a fast food restaurant paper bag with a tear in it, revealing a half-eaten hamburger inside. The hamburger was swollen from being soaked in rainwater, and bread crumbs were stuck to the edge of the paper bag. It looked like this guy had picked up someone else's leftovers from the roadside.

This guy looked like a homeless man who was starving. Forget about spending money in Takamagahara. If you actually let him in, he would probably rush to the kitchen, open the refrigerator, stuff everything he could into his mouth, and then lie on the ground pretending to be a dead dog, no matter how much you kick or beat him.

The waiter covered his nose to avoid the pungent stench and replied in a relatively gentle tone, "I'm sorry, Takamagahara is a club exclusively for women, and we do not accept male guests."

"But aren't you a man too?" The homeless man stared intently at the waiter, his eyes seeming to both covet the pretty boy's good looks and, as if starving, find the waiter's permed, corn-curl-like hair very appetizing.

“Staff members are an exception.” The waiter’s heart pounded under his gaze. “I am a staff member.”

The homeless man hesitated for a moment, then turned and walked into the pouring rain.

The waiter secretly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the guy had finally given up, but unexpectedly, after being soaked in the rain for half a minute, he suddenly turned back.

He stood in the rain, head bowed, and with both hands, he swept his soaked hair back sharply. Dirty, dirty water dripped through his fingers, but the tangled hair, once swept back, was neatly styled into a perfect slicked-back look. The rain washed away most of the oil and grime from his face, revealing his well-defined jawline and a pair of grey-blue eyes.

What a classic, handsome young man's slicked-back hairstyle.

“Friends! Look at me, I’m the Yosuke Eguchi type! I’m also interested in working here! Can you take me in?” The homeless man’s eyes widened, his eyebrows raised, and his chest muscles bulged so much they seemed about to burst through his clothes.

The waiter stared blankly at this unusual flower blooming defiantly in the downpour, pointing a finger at him: "You...you...you are..."

"The Yosuke Eguchi type!" the homeless man emphasized again.

"No, no! You're more like Tomoya Nagase!" the waiter exclaimed excitedly.

"Well... I haven't watched many Japanese dramas lately. Is this the Nagase Tomoya you're talking about?" The homeless man looked a little flustered, but his legs, held together at attention, showed that he was taking this job interview very seriously.

"The Flower-Obsessed Detective," the waiter gave a thumbs up, "Nagase Tomoya from The Flower-Obsessed Detective! He's the main character in that drama! He's also my idol!"

"Really?" The homeless man touched his angular chin, a trait characteristic of Aryans, with delight. "The protagonist?"

"That's right, he plays a really shameless fangirl in there!" The waiter bowed deeply. "You've come at the perfect time! The manager said that the male escorts in the store are too focused on looks right now, and we need some comedic characters. We really need someone like you! Please have a seat and wait a moment! I'll go in and recommend you to the manager right away!"

The gates of Takamagahara were suddenly pushed open, and several male escorts who had just seen off their guests filed out.

Leading the way was Caesar, dressed in a black striped suit with a white lace shirt underneath and a purple bow tie. He was supporting a tipsy female guest with one hand and carrying her Hermès Birkin bag with the other. He wore the signature smile of the young master of the Gattuso family, a smile that would make any woman, regardless of age, feel as if she were being gently held in the palm of the world's hand.

"I am still young, and it is a great honor to receive your favor. If fate allows, we will meet again, and perhaps then will be the perfect time to forge a lifelong bond." Caesar tenderly saw off his last guest, "I hope you will continue to support me next time."

They had just gone to a ramen shop on the back street, had a few cups of sake and a bowl of soy sauce ramen, before leisurely returning to Takamagahara, only to find loyal fans waiting patiently in the cold wind.

The drunken woman leaned on Caesar's shoulder, and Lu Mingfei and Chu Zihang each took a hand on either side, the three of them working together to help her to the door.

This loyal fan is Ms. Mikasa, the 32-year-old vice president of a certain engine company. She is married and has no children.

Her husband was a Yokozuna-level sumo wrestler, who devoted himself to the sport and became increasingly obese. He spent his days wrestling with other fat men and completely ignored her.

Ms. Mikasa then turned to nightclubs, becoming a VIP customer of Basara King, visiting at least twice a week and ordering at least three bottles of Dom Pérignon each time.

"Can I have a kiss when we part? I'm flying to America for negotiations early tomorrow morning. If I take Basara King's kiss with me, I'll be invincible!" The woman stood in front of the door, swaying like a reed in the wind, her high heels making several stumbles on the wet floor tiles.

"How about a gentle kiss, like a cherry blossom falling?" Caesar asked.

"What a heartless man!" The president closed his eyes and tilted his head back.

Caesar put his arm around her waist, Lu Mingfei snapped his fingers, and the waiter who was helping her carry her bag rushed forward and planted a tender kiss on the president's face.

The president slowly opened his eyes, and before him stood the same radiant young nobleman. Their eyes met, filled with tender affection, as deep as the sea.

"This world is so cruel, but it becomes beautiful because of you!" The woman instantly regained her powerful aura, straightened her collar, and strode towards her car. The high heels that had been wobbling just moments before now slammed onto the ground with a sound like war drums. "Wait for me. After I've dealt with all those German and French suppliers, I'll come back for you!"

She strode away with an air of triumph, while the three male escorts stood on the steps, waving at her like willow branches swaying in the wind, their faces bearing the professional smiles of someone weathered by life's storms. Looking at the handsome men in her rearview mirror, a surge of determination to protect them welled up within her. She slammed on the gas, and the Mercedes disappeared into the damp, rain-swept horizon of Kabukicho.

Caesar clapped his hands: "That's a wrap!"

That's just how people are; once they break through a certain lower limit, they become completely fearless and everything becomes second nature.

Initially, Caesar adopted a noble and forceful approach, using smiles, flattery, and a distant, aloof demeanor, overwhelming the aristocratic aura accumulated over centuries by the Gattuso family.

Now he has learned to be both firm and gentle here, occasionally revealing a little vulnerability at the right time. When customers see this sunny man actually saying something pleading, their hearts soften instantly, and they spend a lot of money to buy wine to boost his sales.

After repeated practice, Caesar became more and more proficient in using it, and had reached a state of Zen where he could see the reflection of flowers in a mirror and the moon in the water without leaving a trace.

He is very willing to use his charm appropriately to bestow it upon those poor women who lack love, which perfectly matches the humpback whale's "male-style flower arrangement".

Lu Mingfei secretly felt that as long as Caesar was given enough time, this promising talent would surely make a name for himself in the history of Takamagahara and achieve the ultimate accomplishment of "the most outstanding man".

A day apart feels like three autumns. Chu Zihang has also made considerable progress and is no longer the ignorant fool he once was.

He was no longer the robot who always greeted customers with a cold face. Occasionally, when a customer finished telling a not-so-funny joke, he would slightly curve the corners of his mouth, making the customer feel as if he had personally melted the customer's heart.

Lu Mingfei guessed that he didn't have any special purpose in doing this. Chu Zihang was just dedicated to his work. He was dedicated to everything he did, whether he was slaying dragons, repairing cars, or working as a gigolo.

"Fellow disciples, I've finally found my family..." someone suddenly spoke up timidly from the bottom of the steps.

Nani? What? It must be a hallucination! It must be a hallucination! I actually heard my useless senior brother's voice in the hallucination, it must be because I miss him so much!

Lu Mingfei tried to deceive himself. But why did he miss his good-for-nothing senior brother so much? Could it be that little bit of desire for reformation in his heart?

He covered his face and tried to slip into the shop. God help me, please don't run into my useless senior brother in a place like this, especially not in this outfit.

As soon as he returned to the store, he changed into his work clothes: a black striped suit with a white lace shirt, a purple bow tie, and a deep V-neck that slit from his shoulder blade to his waist. His back was completely bare.

If this outfit were caught by the gossip-loving senior brother's eyes, it would definitely become a nightmare he could never shake off for the rest of his life.

No, not just in this lifetime, but also in the future. Their photos will be taken and sent to every student at Kassel College, ensuring they will never be reincarnated. Ten years after graduation, at a reunion, someone will project the photos onto a projector and play them on a loop.

Fingel von Frings, the useless senior student, former head of the press department, current king of repeaters, and the most notorious paparazzi king in the history of Kassel College.

Chapter 837 The King of Paparazzi

"You don't recognize me anymore?" the man continued, trembling at the bottom of the steps, raindrops dripping from his tangled hair onto the steps. "If you don't recognize me, I'll take a picture and post it online with the title 'Three elites from Kassel end up in Tokyo's Kabukicho, why are they going shirtless in backless suits?'"

Lu Mingfei hung his head, thinking that dignity should just go with the wind. A real man should be responsible for his actions. At least he was an artist who didn't sell his body, so he could be considered to have remained untainted by the mud.

He took a deep breath, and together with Caesar and Chu Zihang, they lowered their heads to look at the soaking wet, defeated dog standing at the bottom of the steps.

Fingel ran his fingers through his hair, revealing his signature smiling face, pale from being soaked in the rain, and pointed to the greeter next to him, saying, "I'm here looking for a job, can you give me a recommendation?"