Dragon Raja: Lu Mingfei finds a Freylian

“I was just kidding,” Fingel said, raising his hands in surrender. “But seriously, I always thought that rich kids like you wouldn’t understand the hardships of ordinary people.”

Chu Zihang was silent for a moment, then said, "My father was just a driver."

Fingel hadn't expected this answer. He opened his mouth, but in the end, he just patted Chu Zihang on the shoulder and said, "Okay, it seems I need to update my definition of a young master."

Frillie broke the brief awkwardness, "We should go check in now; the flight is taking off in two hours."

The interior of Chicago International Airport is even more rudimentary than it appears from the outside.

The four dragged their luggage through the cramped terminal and found their airline's counter.

The check-in process went quite smoothly, except that Fingel's attempt to persuade the ground staff to upgrade them to business class was unsuccessful.

“Economy class it is,” Fingel sighed, “but why are our seats still spread out?”

“Because these are the last four seats on the last flight,” Frillian said, checking her boarding pass. “Lu Mingfei and I are in row 12, Chu Zihang is in row 15, and Finger is in row 18.”

"What? I've been relegated to the back of the plane?" Fingel wailed. "It's near the toilets, so there'll be a constant stream of stench and people!"

“You can choose not to go,” Chu Zihang said calmly.

Fingel immediately shut up and obediently followed everyone toward the security checkpoint.

After passing through security, the four arrived at the waiting area.

It was still early, and there were only a few passengers in the waiting area.

Fingel plopped down in a chair and stretched dramatically. "Ah, finally I can rest. I haven't stopped since I left the academy."

Lu Mingfei looked around. This waiting hall was indeed quite remote, without even a decent restaurant, only a small convenience store and a few vending machines.

“I’m hungry,” Fingel announced.

Lu Mingfei rolled his eyes. "You ate two bags of potato chips, a box of cookies, and three energy bars on the train."

“That was a long time ago!” Fingel said matter-of-factly. “My metabolism is faster than normal, which is a sign of being a superior hybrid.”

"More like a starving ghost reincarnated," Lu Mingfei retorted.

Fingel got up and walked to the convenience store, returning a few minutes later with a cup of instant noodles. "Do you have hot water here?"

He skillfully tore open the instant noodle packaging, added the seasoning packet, and then looked around for a water heater.

Lu Mingfei pointed to an inconspicuous water dispenser in the corner.

“Ah! The fountain of life!” Fingel exclaimed, bowing dramatically before striding toward the water dispenser.

What followed was nothing short of a farce.

Fingel tried to operate the hot water button with one hand while keeping the instant noodle cup balanced. Hot water gushed out, and he frantically adjusted the angle, splashing hot water everywhere, including his own pants.

"Ouch! It's so hot!" Fingel jumped up, almost dropping the instant noodle cup.

Lu Mingfei couldn't help but laugh out loud, and even the usually serious Chu Zihang's lips curled up slightly.

Frillie simply turned her head away, pretending not to recognize this shameful guy.

Fingel successfully made the noodles, carried the steaming hot noodles back to his seat, and said with a satisfied look, "Ah, delicious food."

“You look like you haven’t eaten for three days,” Lu Mingfei shook his head.

Fingel picked up a fork of noodles, blew on it, and said, "Lu Mingfei, you don't understand. People need to eat to survive. You'll get hungry if you skip a meal."

He lowered his voice, "My muscles are itching for more."

"Do you need another bucket of instant noodles for your muscles?" Lu Mingfei asked, pointing to Fingel's nearly empty instant noodle bucket.

“If possible,” Fingel’s eyes lit up.

"Goodbye, when you get to Beijing, eat whatever you want," Lu Mingfei yawned.

Fingel pouted and obediently threw the empty bucket into the trash can.

An announcement came over the loudspeaker in the waiting area, informing them that boarding for their flight was beginning. The four of them gathered their belongings and headed towards the boarding gate.

Chapter 131 An Unpleasant Adventure

The economy class space was even more cramped than Lu Mingfei had imagined; his knees were almost touching the seat in front of him, and he could vaguely feel the mournful look in Fingel's eyes from the far back seat.

To pass the time, Lu Mingfei took out a light novel from his backpack.

The cover features the classic four-person character combination: a gleaming, smiling human hero; a dwarf warrior with a thick beard and wielding a giant axe; a human priestess in a pristine white robe, holding a sacred scripture; and one more.

Lu Mingfei secretly glanced at Frilian beside him, an elven mage holding a staff and with a calm expression.

The book is titled "The Demon King's Reincarnation in Another World with the Elf Magician," and the author's pen name is unusually long: "The Former Demon King of Prophecy Reincarnated in Another World."

"This author's name is way too over-the-top with its chuunibyou (adolescent delusions of grandeur) tendencies," Lu Mingfei thought to himself, but still turned the page.

The story follows the standard isekai (another world) trope, with the protagonist being an ordinary Japanese high school student who is reincarnated as a demon king prophesied to destroy the world.

But he had a change of heart, or perhaps he was tired of fighting and killing. So he used his experience and knowledge as the former Demon King to find the hero team that was prophesied to defeat him ahead of time. He then disguised himself as a prophet and joined the team, thus beginning a bizarre adventure of "digging his own grave".

The book is filled with lighthearted and humorous everyday scenes and exaggerated battles.

The hero Eric raised his holy sword, his face radiating an unwavering passion. "Oh! I sense evil! My companions, let us advance! For the peace of the world!"

The dwarf warrior Grud gulped down a large mouthful of ale, foam covering his beard. "Hiccup! What's a demon king to him? Watch me chop him down with my axe!"

"Pastor" Lina smiled gently, "Eric, Mr. Gerd, please be careful, I will heal you from behind."

The elven mage Freya simply watched all this quietly, as if she had already seen through thousands of years of time, and said calmly, "According to the prophet's prediction, the monster ahead is about level 35. Eric, if you rush too fast and step into the trap like last time, Lina's healing spell won't be able to keep up with the speed at which you lose health."

Hiding behind them, the former Demon King, now a prophet, thought to himself: "Help! That trap was meant for Gerudo! Why does he always move so skillfully?!"

Lu Mingfei couldn't help but smile as he watched; this kind of joking and bantering team routine was a great way to kill time.

Are you reading an interesting story?

Lu Mingfei was startled and almost threw the book away.

He turned his head, and Frillie closed the book she was reading, her eyes falling on the cover of the novel in his hand.

"Ah, it's alright," Lu Mingfei said somewhat awkwardly, feeling caught red-handed for reading something so "childish." "It's just an ordinary light novel, something to pass the time."

Frillie's gaze shifted from the cover to Lu Mingfei's face. "Can I take a look?"

"Of course," Lu Mingfei quickly handed over the book.

Frillie took the book and quickly and quietly turned the pages, reading at an astonishing speed, almost reading ten lines at a glance.

A few minutes later, she closed the book and returned it to Lu Mingfei.

"Finished watching?" Lu Mingfei asked in surprise.

"Yes. The structure is simple, the language is straightforward, and it doesn't take long to understand. The descriptions inside are very different from reality."

"Eh? Frillie, you're also interested in these kinds of fantasy adventure stories?" Lu Mingfei asked curiously.

“It’s not that I’m interested.” Frilian shook her head slightly, her gaze drifting through the porthole to a place far beyond the reach of time and space. “It just so happens that I’ve experienced a similar journey in the past. With human heroes, dwarf warriors, and human priests.”

Lu Mingfei's eyes widened. "Just like in the book? Defeating the Demon King?"

"The goals are similar, but the process is completely different. The daily life in the book is too idyllic. Real adventures are mostly about tedious travel, searching for clues, and sleeping in the open. Battles are often short and brutal, without so many fancy lines and dramatic twists."

She paused, then continued, "While the hero Simmel is a hot-blooded idiot, he doesn't constantly talk about dreams of peace. He's more concerned with whether the next village has good bread and hot springs. The dwarf warrior Aze does love to drink, but his axe isn't just for chopping down demon kings; it's more for clearing paths in the wilderness or dealing with hungry monsters. As for the priest Haita, he's not so gentle when he heals; he often complains, 'How did you get hurt again?' or 'My magic isn't for healing these kinds of scrapes.'"

Lu Mingfei listened intently. The vibrant and colorful adventure picture in his mind, depicted by light novels, was gradually tinged with the gray of the real world by Frilian's few words.

"Then, what about the demons?" Lu Mingfei couldn't help but ask. He thought of the vaguely defined evil monsters that were just background characters in the book. "The book describes them as if they were just experience points."

Upon hearing the word "demon," Frillie underwent a subtle change.

“Demons,” she repeated the word, her voice lowering slightly, “They are not monsters from a game, nor are they foolish beasts. They are dangerous, extremely dangerous.”

"What do they look like? Are they all like the demon pursuers we encountered when we first met them, or are they blue-faced, fanged, and strangely shaped?" Lu Mingfei's mind conjured up images of demons from various games and movies.

“No,” Frilian denied his imagination. “Many demons look very similar to humans, some even handsome or beautiful. They possess powerful magic, can use all sorts of strange spells, and are quite intelligent, capable of plotting complex schemes, setting traps, and even mimicking human emotions to deceive people.”

"Like a fallen hybrid?"

Lu Mingfei thought of Deadpool, who was once a half-blood but ultimately became a killing machine.

Frillie pondered the analogy: "There are similarities, but they are fundamentally different. The fall of hybrids is a process of 'mutation.' But demons are like that from the very beginning. Their greatest characteristic, and also their most dangerous aspect, lies in—"

She paused to make sure Lu Mingfei was listening attentively.

"—They cannot comprehend human values, morality, and emotions. Joy, sorrow, love, compassion, guilt, awe for life. All these things that are natural to us are alien concepts that are completely incomprehensible to them. They may 'learn' to mimic these emotions for the purpose of deception and hunting, just as a hunter imitates the calls of an animal, but the core is empty."

"You can think of them as 'beasts' with high intelligence, great strength, and proficiency in human language. Their thinking logic is purely based on their own desires, the instinct to become stronger, and the desire to destroy. Communication, empathy, and compromise are not options in their understanding."

Lu Mingfei suddenly felt that the grotesque monsters were not so scary. What was most terrifying were those creatures that looked like humans but were completely different kinds of terrifying beings inside.

“Therefore,” Frilian concluded simply and coldly, “there is no possibility of negotiation or persuasion with demons. Any attempt to understand them or coexist with them will only lead to tragedy and death. Their very existence is a threat to all other life.”

She looked at Lu Mingfei, "Therefore, in our time, the only rule when facing the demon race was..."

"Kill without mercy."

Three words, spoken lightly from her lips.

Lu Mingfei held his breath. He had never heard anyone speak so calmly and resolutely.

This is not a heroic declaration from a novel, but a cruel law of survival proven by countless lives and bloodshed.

He glanced subconsciously at the light novel with its flashy cover in his hand, and suddenly felt that the adventure story inside had become incredibly pale and ridiculous.

Is this the truth behind the real adventure?

Frillie saw through his thoughts and added, “Of course, these are all things of my world. In this world, you are facing dragons and Deadpools, who have their own characteristics and rules. But some principles are universal: never be naive about your enemies, and always be vigilant.”

"Bang!" The plane encountered a gust of air and shook slightly.

Lu Mingfei came to his senses, his palms sweating slightly.

He silently stuffed the light novel back into the depths of his backpack. Compared to the elf beside him who had experienced a true thousand-year adventure, he, a so-called "S" rank, was still as naive as a child.

"Thanks, Frillian," Lu Mingfei said softly.

Frillie nodded and picked up the heavy book again.

Chapter 132 Paparazzi King

The plane flew smoothly in the stratosphere, and most passengers were taking a nap or daydreaming amidst the engine noise.