Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 164: Lord of Blackstone (1)

Dragon Raja 3

Su Enxi soaked in the pale jade-colored hot spring water, a wooden tray floating on the surface.

At eight in the morning, Kimura Hiro had already prepared the water and invited Su Enxi to bathe. Breakfast was served at the same time, a traditional Japanese meal of rice porridge, pickled radish, and a piece of grilled cod. The coast guard was busy clearing debris on the beach. Bulldozers scooped up chunks of concrete and dead fish, dumping them into trucks. Yellow police tape surrounded the completely destroyed fishing port, where Self-Defense Force officers were questioning witnesses.

A plasma TV next to the hot spring was showing the morning news. The Chief Cabinet Secretary was answering questions, stating that the government had not yet reached a conclusion on the “incident” during the Atami tsunami. Claims of “alien invasion” were inaccurate. (Author’s note: The Chief Cabinet Secretary is the equivalent of a Secretary-General in the Cabinet, the most important official after the Prime Minister.)

Of course, the Chief Cabinet Secretary didn’t believe that Atami had been invaded by aliens, because too many people were covering up what really happened—Cassell College, the Yamata no Orochi, and Su Enxi’s team. Although their goals differed, they all staunchly guarded the secret of the Dragon race.

However, the Chief Cabinet Secretary expressed serious concern about the eruption of Mount Fuji, presenting a report from the National Research Institute. It indicated that volcanic activity in Japan had increased drastically in recent years, possibly indicating severe tectonic shifts and the potential for large-scale earthquakes.

Su Enxi picked up the remote and turned off the TV, submerging her entire body, except her head, into the water.

The hot spring pool at the Black Stone Manor was a natural green stone basin. Artisans had used copper pipes to channel the hot spring water into the pool, making it warm and jade-like. Above the pool bloomed a tall ancient cherry tree. This type of cherry blossom was called “Kanzakura,” transplanted here by the Shogun’s gardener from a temple garden in Shuzenji. Kanzakura bloomed earlier than other cherry trees, heralding the cherry blossom season sweeping across Japan.

Cherry blossoms were Japan’s national flower. Every March and April, they bloomed sequentially from the warm south to the north. The pink “cherry blossom tide” progressed northward daily, forming a line called the “cherry blossom front.” The high ground here offered an unobstructed view of Mount Fuji in the distance, its slopes already turned pink. The “cherry blossom vanguard” was advancing from the warm foothills toward the cold mountain peak. This breathtaking view was a luxury; staying in a hotel with such a view would cost at least hundreds of thousands of yen a day. But this was her own backyard.

For most, lying in a hot spring with such a view would evoke a sense of pride or even arrogance, feeling atop society’s pyramid. But not for Su Enxi. She found no meaning in it and thought her romance novel was far more interesting.

Deep down, Su Enxi was an otaku. Kimura Hiro had not yet spent enough time with her to realize this. For an otaku, no real-world luxury could compare to the world inside books. So, Su Enxi remained indifferent to everything. Though she held power in reality, the real world wasn’t fun for her. A girl’s paradise existed only in romance novels. In these stories, the modest heroine would call her boyfriend in distress, saying, “What should I do? My company’s stock fell again, and my boss yelled at me all day. I’m afraid he’ll fire me!” The boyfriend would comfort her, saying, “It’s okay, sweetheart. The stock will rise again, and your boss will be in a better mood and stop yelling at you.” After hanging up, the handsome boyfriend, walking towards his private jet, would frown and tell his assistant, “Move a few billion to buy up her company’s stock. Let it rise a bit so that fat idiot stops yelling at my girl.” The assistant would grimace and say, “Do we really have to give that fat idiot so much respect?” The boyfriend would wave it off, saying, “No, I haven’t told her yet. She wants a normal, civilian love life.”

And what was reality? Reality was speculating on the currency of some Southeast Asian country, moving hundreds of billions, making a profit of billions, and watching the digits in your account change slightly. Completely devoid of happiness.

Su Enxi bit into a chip and continued reading her romance novel.

The sound of a bell rang, and Kimura Hiro’s voice came through the mist, “Miss Enxi, you have a visitor.”

The sound of high heels approached from afar. A shadow in the mist stepped on the thin heels, her body swaying like a tall bamboo in the wind.

Just a few minutes earlier, Kimura Hiro had been directing the servants to clean the entrance. Suddenly, the roar of an engine echoed from below. Moments later, a Lamborghini pulled up in front of the Black Stone Manor, its gemstone blue exterior gleaming like a ray of blue sunlight.

The guest was dressed in a tight black bodysuit, a golden sash tied at her waist, and five-inch high heels. She wore sunglasses, her face concealed. Without a word, she tossed her car keys to Kimura Hiro and walked inside. He did not stop her, nor did he ask for her name, because Su Enxi had instructed him the night before, “Tomorrow morning, a stunning beauty you’ve never seen before will arrive. Let her in. I’m not seeing anyone else.”

“A beauty I’ve never seen before?” Kimura Hiro felt awkward. He wanted to say he had seen almost every Japanese celebrity. The manor had even housed European and American starlets. Who could be so extraordinary?

“When you see her, you’ll understand. That girl is from another world compared to the beauties you’ve met,” Su Enxi had smiled.

The moment the guest stepped out of the Lamborghini, Kimura Hiro understood what Su Enxi meant. It wasn’t her looks or figure that set her apart, but her aura—a beauty laced with an almost demonic severity.

The guest removed her golden sash and scarf. Wearing the tight black bodysuit and sunglasses, she stepped into the hot spring, her ankle-length black hair fanning out in the water.

“So, is wearing a diving suit in a hot spring the new French fashion?” Su Enxi, still engrossed in her book, pushed a floating tray toward her. “Kubota sake, congratulations on your return from the deep.”

Without even looking, Su Enxi knew it was Mai. Her most distinct feature wasn’t her face, but her figure. Su Enxi couldn’t understand why she hadn’t taken off her diving suit. What Mai was wearing under her gauze skirt wasn’t an undershirt but a full-body “Sharkskin” swimsuit by SPEEDO. She had come straight from the depths of the sea and hadn’t even had time to change out of her swimsuit, hurriedly throwing the gauze skirt over it. For someone who cared so much about her appearance, this was a rare moment of carelessness.

Without saying a word, Mai pulled out a diving knife and slowly cut open the suit from her neck downward. Su Enxi’s face changed drastically when she saw the fine blue scales beneath the suit! Mai removed her sunglasses, and the edges of her eye sockets were also covered in fine blue scales, growing towards her ears.

“Is there still a way to save me?” she asked in a hoarse voice, sounding like a snake hissing.

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