Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 176: Girl with Sandalwood Scent (8)

Dragon Raja 3

The elders in the family constantly worried about this reckless heir. If he was this much of a headache as a child, what kind of nightmare would he grow into as an adult?

Only his mother saw him differently. Late at night, she would sit by his bed, kiss his forehead, and whisper, “The world is cruel, and fighting against it won’t do you any good. But I’m glad… my Caesar is a kind person.”

Am I really that kind? Caesar wasn’t sure himself. He just liked to ruin the adults’ plans, the more, the better… Honestly, that movie star was silly—if you’re going to throw something at my dad, why use your underwear? There’s a perfectly good high heel at your feet—aim for his forehead!

“Hallelujah,” Caesar murmured, drawing a cross on the desk and pressing the Enter key.

This time, he connected to a server in Sweden, one of the most secure servers in the world, located in a nuclear bunker that no hacker had ever been able to crack.

The screen stayed still for a few seconds, then countless lines of code poured into the simple DOS window, white characters flashing upwards at lightning speed!

He had done it—he had re-established contact with the college. The incoming data stream was Norma’s digital decoding lock, routed from the U.S., through Sweden’s frozen tundra, and now entering the small computer in this quasi-adult internet café.

The characters all disappeared, leaving only a single, blinking name: “Norma:\”

Caesar suppressed his excitement and typed, “Caesar Gattuso, agent of the Department of Implement, Class A, file No. 112933A. I am calling from Japan. I am in trouble.”

“Norma: Welcome home, Caesar. You are under my protection.”

Caesar had never felt such affection for Norma. He usually disliked nagging women and had once criticized Norma’s personality in the Night Watcher forums, calling her a “pampered middle-aged white woman.” But right now, if Norma had appeared in front of him, he would have hugged that middle-aged white woman and kissed her on both cheeks. Being back under Norma’s protection meant everything. He had access to the intelligence system, could withdraw cash from the college’s accounts, and could even requisition a helicopter to fly him out of Japan if necessary. An agent in a connected state was invincible, because Norma always stood behind them. Even if he were shot and bleeding out, all he would have to do was call out to Norma, and within minutes, a rescue helicopter would descend from the sky.

“Caesar: Project Dragon Embryo has failed. The only confirmed survivor is me.”

“Norma: The Japanese branch has betrayed us. Japan has turned into a battlefield.”

“Caesar: What’s the reason for the betrayal?”

“Norma: That information is not available to you at the moment. Your top priority is to stay hidden. You’ve been to the Shrine of the Gods. If Yamata no Orochi learns you’ve survived, they will hunt you down.”

“Caesar: The safe haven is no longer usable. I need another place to hide. I require a helicopter, an unmonitored phone, a credit card, and 5 million yen in cash.”

“Norma: Under Japan’s air traffic regulations, moving an aircraft will leave records, and Yamata no Orochi could track you via the flight logs. A car is already on its way to pick you up. Rest assured, all the items you requested will be in the car. We will contact you again once you reach a secure location.”

“Caesar: Got it.”

As expected of Norma, she devised a complete escape plan for Caesar within minutes, even sending a car to pick him up.

Makoto knelt beside Caesar, watching him type energetically on the keyboard as if he were playing the piano. She was genuinely happy. Although she found defeated Caesar somewhat “adorable,” in her heart, this confident version of him suited him far better.

Whenever she thought back to that stormy night, she recalled how the wind lifted Caesar’s long coat, how he lit a cigar in the pouring rain, casually blowing a cloud of smoke towards the sky. He was born in the sunlight of the Bay of Genoa, and even the storm couldn’t extinguish the light he carried.

Caesar’s long hair fell gracefully over his shoulders, with a faint scent of sandalwood. In the reflection of the computer screen, Caesar could see Makoto’s face—so close to his, they looked like a couple posing for a photo in a booth.

Caesar thought to himself, What a hassle.

He knew exactly how a girl behaved when she liked a man. She would subconsciously get close, follow him silently, become lively at the dinner table only to suddenly fall silent, not knowing what to say next—trying to cover her feelings with words. Caesar understood this too well. Being perfect was the Gattuso men’s flaw; they had such good luck with women that it could make less fortunate men weep. Sometimes even Caesar couldn’t understand how he managed to stir a girl’s heart… when all he was doing was sitting there, absentmindedly picking at his toes.

Few good girls would find their lives derailed by meeting Caesar, though even if they barely got to speak to him, they would remember him for the rest of their days. When they grew old, their wrinkles as deep as carved wood, they would still recall that boy in the captain’s uniform, sitting quietly on the prow of a ship at the Bay of Genoa, sipping a gin and tonic as the sun set. The sea breeze would lift his golden hair, and a falcon would spread its wings atop the mast, ready to take flight… All while, out of sight, Caesar absentmindedly picked at his toes.

Caesar didn’t move away, not wanting to embarrass Makoto. After all, noblemen like him were a flamboyant breed. Even if their hearts belonged to someone else, they never turned down a girl’s admiration. They continually honed their charm, remaining stylish and wealthy, striving to be the perfect man—the dream of every girl. If a girl wanted to lay her head on his shoulder and watch a sunset, he could reluctantly agree, granting her one sunset’s worth of affection, knowing they would never meet again.

Thinking about it, maybe he couldn’t entirely blame his father, Pompeii, for living a life of flirtation. If Caesar hadn’t met his “tigress” fiancée, he might have followed in his father’s footsteps, roguishly enjoying a “charming” life.

Even to this day, Caesar couldn’t fully grasp how Nono managed to win him over. The best thing about Nono was that she was always unreadable. That’s why Caesar’s famous saying was: “Every girl is like a book, but my favorite is Nono because I can’t understand a word.”

What’s the fun in a girl who is easy to read? Even if she liked you, her heart would be as thin as a leaflet, and flipping through it would only reveal the plain words: “I like you.”

After a minute, Caesar subtly shifted away a little and looked into Makoto’s eyes. “Do you still want to continue your studies?”

“Yes! I started working to save for tuition,” Makoto nodded enthusiastically.

“When this is all over, I’ll introduce you to someone. He’s in charge of the Gattuso Education Foundation and sits on the board of the University for Foreigners in Perugia, Italy. You can think of it as our family’s school—it’s a pretty good one. That person will provide you with a full scholarship to study there. Perugia is a beautiful city, built on rolling hills, with roads that go up and down. There are many ancient Roman buildings there. I think you’d like it. I’ll take a few days to show you around Perugia and introduce you to my fiancée,” Caesar said, deliberately mentioning his fiancée.

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