Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 102: Every Tortoise longs for its puddle (6)

Dragon Raja 3

“Oh, no need to trouble yourself, I’ll take care of it,” Lu Mingfei quickly stepped up to take the tray. He could understand simple Japanese phrases like this, thanks to the little Japanese booklet Lu Mingze had given him before departure.

Although he had long since left Shilan Middle School’s Literature Club, his instinct of serving as an assistant remained. When they had gatherings at Zhao Menghua’s home, it was always Lu Mingfei who ran around serving the tea that Chen Wenwen prepared. The girl in front of him made him feel nostalgic for his high school days. She wore braces and black-rimmed glasses, her long hair tied neatly into a ponytail, pinned with a coral-red hair clip. She had no other accessories. Sakura also wore no accessories, but it was different. Sakura’s lack of adornment was intentional to avoid drawing attention, while  Asou Makoto simply hadn’t had the chance to embellish herself yet. In the future, she would wear sparkling necklaces, rings, and watches, but right now, she only exuded the scent of paper, tea, cotton cloth, and her wool vest—just like Chen Wenwen back then.

Lu Mingfei sighed inwardly, thinking to himself that he was getting old. He also wondered what Chen Wenwen and Zhao Menghua were up to now. What could two believers be up to? One was an active reader at the West District Church, the other a choir soloist—they must be holding hands under God’s grace, praising His mercy for bringing them together. Although they hadn’t even graduated yet, they were already like an old married couple… And here he was, in Tokyo’s darkest corner, getting involved in the underworld!

The thought annoyed him!

Lu Mingfei slammed a teacup in front of Noda Shou. “Yours! Take it!”

“The tea is for you, not for him,” Chisei reminded him.

“Oh, right, why should I be polite to him?” Lu Mingfei huffed. “Young and already up to no good, joining the underworld! Think joining a gang is cool? Wearing flashy clothes and carrying a baseball bat makes you look tough? Haven’t you graduated from being a middle-school edgelord?”

Seeing that this was just an ordinary thug, Lu Mingfei didn’t feel the need to show respect. With the family’s young master beside him, why should he fear some small-time gangster? If this thug dared to disobey, the family could send troops to flatten Kabukicho in an instant.

Sakura translated Lu Mingfei’s words word for word to Shou.

“Your middle-school edgelord phase doesn’t seem to be much better than his,” Caesar remarked, shrugging as he opened his suit jacket to reveal the fierce “Yasha devours demons” design on the silk lining. The beautiful, stern decoration made him feel very much in character. He now felt like he was a figure of significance in Japan’s underworld.

“Your name.” Caesar looked down coldly at Noda Shou, pressuring him with his gaze.

Chisei thought, you all are practically in the same middle-school edgelord club, let’s not pretend. He couldn’t be bothered with such trivial matters, so he got up and strolled around the store, his eyes sweeping over the plastic models of Luffy, Sasuke, and Haruhi Suzumiya, as well as a human-sized Gundam in the corner. Since Sakura was translating, he had nothing to worry about. Even if Caesar and Lu Mingfei said something ridiculous, Sakura would translate it into something appropriate. Someone like Noda Shou, who only collected protection fees from a few stores, was completely insignificant. For the family, there was no standard procedure for handling people like him—it was enough to intimidate them a bit.

“Kabukicho, Shinjuku District, Tokyo—Noda Group… Future third-generation leader Noda Shou, currently working under the second-generation leader, Noda Hirozo…” Shou said dejectedly.

“Don’t make it sound like you’re some big-name gang in Shinjuku. According to our information, the Noda Group used to be responsible for sewer cleaning in Shinjuku. After the new drainage system was built, you had no work, so you started collecting protection money on the streets, right?” Sakura said coldly. “Small gangs like yours aren’t even on the ranking list with the family, and you dare to increase protection fees?”

“This shop used to pay protection fees to our group, but after the owner changed, they stopped paying,” Shou said, feeling like he was being questioned by the police. “The talk about fee increases was just talk—we’ll follow the old rules. We’re all men who respect the rules.”

“I’m a woman,” Sakura said. “And I’ve never heard of a toy store having to pay protection fees.”

“A toy store isn’t that different from a store selling adult products… They’re all just selling fun stuff,” Noda Shou mumbled.

“How old are you?” Chu Zihang asked.

“Born May 4th, Heisei 6, Gemini, Year of the Dog.”

“Whoa, whoa, is it necessary to make it sound like a fortune-telling session?” Lu Mingfei said. “With the way you’re acting, you don’t seem like a Gemini at all—more like a miserable Cancer!”

Sakura hesitated for a moment before translating.

“My rising sign is Cancer, and Venus is also in Cancer, so I’m more of a Cancerian Gemini,” Noda Shou explained, confused why a family officer seemed to know about astrology. He had been a member of the astrology club in junior high, and talking about zodiac signs usually pleased girls, so he would often introduce himself that way. Earlier, out of sheer nervousness, he had blurted out his zodiac sign and Chinese zodiac.

“How dare you talk back! Are you showing disrespect to the family officer?” Fueled by alcohol, Lu Mingfei suddenly flew into a rage.

Sakura didn’t want this pointless conversation to continue. She turned to Asou Makoto “Asou Makoto, right? You reported to the family that the Noda Group not only demanded protection fees from the toy store but also increased the rate without permission?”

“Yes,” Makoto replied softly. “The store manager said that the store had just opened and was still losing money. We need funds to restock, and a toy store doesn’t make enough to pay protection fees. If we can’t get rid of the gang, we might as well close down. I just started this job and didn’t want to lose it… So I dared to call for help.”

“This kind of small matter could’ve been settled…” Noda Shou tried to say.

A short blade slid out from Sakura’s sleeve, and she pressed it against Noda Shou’s nape. “Now that the family is involved, there’s no room for negotiation. I don’t think you understand just how serious your mistake is. The protection fee rate for this street, Kabukicho, and even all of Shinjuku is fixed, decided through a conference among the major gang leaders. Your Noda Group doesn’t even have the right to attend that meeting. No one on this street dares to propose a rate increase—those who have are all dead. The family does not allow this sort of thing to affect the prosperity of the street, and usually, we employ the most severe measures. In other words, this could become a big issue.”

Ma’s face turned pale. She never imagined her call would lead to such a terrifying outcome. The aura Sakura emitted while speaking was pitch black, like dried blood. The short blade had already pressed into the back of Noda Shou’s neck; a little more force, and there would be blood. Makoto had only wanted to scare away the thug who harassed the store daily, at most give him some scolding.

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