Family Dinner (I)

--Jumping off the building had been way too hasty.

Lu Mingfei stood on a Tokyo street, holding an umbrella over a mafia princess, and stared blankly ahead. None of the pride and arrogance he had displayed two hours ago while calling himself a thug remained.

The mafia princess beside him obediently held out a hand, wanting to help hold the umbrella. She wore a blue-violet princess dress trimmed with black lace, pale yellow heeled ankle boots, and a blue ribbon hair accessory in her long hair.

The endless downpour had turned Tokyo into a watery city like Venice, with stream-like currents flowing through every street and alley.

Tokyo was unusually moving amid the raging wind and rain. A layer of pink petals floated across the river's surface, forming a dazzling tide of cherry blossoms; pink whirlpools spun wherever the current ran swift, while thick, fragrant petals gathered where the water lay calm.

"So how did things end up like this?" Lu Mingfei glanced at the devil beside him, who stood in the paused time, getting drenched while humming "Sakura no Shiori." "Devil bro, did we enter the wrong dungeon? I've been here so long, and I haven't seen a single Deadpool..."

He felt like he had drawn his sword and looked in every direction, only to find himself utterly lost.

After Lu Mingze stopped humming, a faint golden gleam flashed through his eyes. "I told you, this is a long dungeon—the kind that starts sweet and ends bitter... Though, judging by how things are going, other people will probably suffer more later. Don't be so confused. Cheer up. Life occasionally gives you something sweet. I'll give you a little perk: Japanese Proficiency."

Lu Mingfei patted his ears. He did not feel any different, but he believed the devil would not bullshit him over something so minor.

"I'll be off first. I have an old flame in Japan, so be good and take the mafia princess shopping... Oh, and one more reminder: the owner of this place isn't dead yet. She counts as an 'intelligent NPC,' you know. Brother, cherish your life. Be careful not to get her killed. She's a pretty little girl."

"Why are you so horny at your age? Is it some female dragon? I mean, your old flame." Lu Mingfei sighed through gritted teeth, revealing the mindset of fearing that his brother might be driving a Land Rover.

Though he preferred calling Lu Mingze a devil, he knew perfectly well that Lu Mingze was undoubtedly some sort of being connected to dragons.

Damn it, all day yesterday and last night, we brothers had talked about everything under the sun and bonded over our shared misery, and now you tell me you're one of those successful guys with a life while losers and winners don't belong in the same world. Lu Mingfei gazed up at Tokyo's hazy sky at a forty-five-degree angle.

There really were plenty of people whose lives went smoothly these days.

"Of course not. I'm not interested in female dragons. It's two fat Siamese cats—Dekomori and Takanashi, brother and sister. We raised them together back then. Did you forget?"

Lu Mingze left without looking back, and time thawed.

"I'm going to pet cats."

"Wait."

Lu Mingfei instinctively reached for some yen. "Be careful in a foreign country. Do you have enough money... And at your age, don't go to the red-light district. Japan's softcore sex industry is pretty developed too. Host clubs, bubble bath places—they're all very che... very dangerous."

His movement stopped.

This was absurd. He had actually wanted to ask after a devil's safety and finances. It would already be cause for thanks to heaven and earth if Lu Mingze did not drag others into hell's bloody mire.

The yen on him had been stuffed into his hands by Caesar and Chu Zihang two hours ago, just after he had entered the dungeon and was about to head out. Caesar had waggled his eyebrows and said, "This is the hard-earned money we made from selling ourselves yesterday. You'd better spend it sparingly with your girl."

As he spoke, a trace of world-weariness and melancholy flashed through young Master Gattuso's eyes.

Hard-earned money from selling themselves... Those words made Lu Mingfei's heart pound in alarm.

He knew something about the circumstances of their "2011 Cassell Headquarters Trio." He knew that, because of their differing positions, they were being hunted by the Snake-Branch Eight Families led by Gen Chisei, and that the three brothers were doing part-time work to support themselves.

But he had never figured out exactly what sort of work they were doing in Tokyo. From the sound of it, Caesar and the others seemed to be working in the service industry as male escorts... That was unrealistic, because one of them was absurdly principled, while the other was absurdly proud.

Besides, how could Dragon Slayers, such a lofty profession, fall into the flesh trade?

The likeliest explanation was that Caesar had used the wrong words and had meant to say "working hard"... As for the occasional mentions of rich old women, the path of manhood, flower tickets, drinking companionship, and such, those were surely just coincidences.

The more Lu Mingfei thought about it, the more ashen his face became. He could no longer fool himself.

"I won't come to harm or lose to anyone. I'll accompany you through heaven and hell. That was something we promised long ago. For now, allow me to smoothly disappear from your life for a while. The soft, squishy feel of fat cats will briefly numb my love for you, brother."

The devil's final voice vanished into the rain of cherry blossoms as he walked into the crowd, surging like the sea tide.

"I want to hold the umbrella too. You've been holding it for so long." The princess named Eriya held a cherry blossom-patterned notepad against her chest. She had not snatched the umbrella away, and she seemed a little disappointed.

"If you hold the umbrella, how will you write? I'm not tired from holding it." Lu Mingfei scratched his head and looked at her.

Of course, he knew Eriya, this mafia runaway girl. Back at Genji Heavy Industries, she had given him the greatest sense of security. She was supposedly Gen Chisei's younger sister and the most terrifying mother of the Serpentine Deadpools.

Back then, after being chased through the heavy industries building by Deadpools until he was filthy and bedraggled, he had seen the monster girl in shrine maiden robes descend from the sky and instantly kill several Deadpools. He had nearly dropped to his knees and cried, "Thank you for your boundless grace!"

The current timeline was undoubtedly after Genji Heavy Industries. It seemed the mafia princess had not only succeeded in running away from home, but was also living quite comfortably outside the heavy industries building.

Lu Mingfei blankly watched the rain of cherry blossoms drifting beyond the umbrella, feeling as though something was missing from his heart. From time to time, he touched the pile of small weapons hidden on his body.

This dungeon did not even have a mission... Though even if it did, he might not necessarily follow it.

It was too easy, too wonderful. He was wandering around Tokyo with a beautiful girl who had once scared him so badly his heart had nearly stopped, and the beautiful girl beside him was quite dependable in a fight. If trouble arose, she could hold him in one arm while slaughtering enemies in every direction.

Had life finally found its conscience and said, "I've been too cruel to you. Beating you down for two years was too excessive, too inhuman. From now on, little Lu, your bitterness is over and your sweetness has arrived. Just live peacefully and happily, with three dishes and a soup, healthy and content"?

After all the sticks, the carrot had finally arrived, and it was a mafia heiress, female-monster-brand carrot.

The sound of footsteps in the rain pulled his consciousness back to reality.

Eriya, in high spirits, quickened her pace. Their schedule for the day was still rather packed. They were about to visit Sensoji and then eat at Chateau Joel Robuchon. Even when Lu Mingfei lined up to buy a drink, he kept looking back to make sure where she was, afraid that the moment he turned around, Her Highness the mafia princess would disappear into the vast sea of people, never to be found again.

I'm doing this for the safety of Tokyo's citizens... That was what Lu Mingfei told himself.

His new problem had revealed itself—he lacked social skills. He was not particularly proactive when establishing social relationships, and he was often led along by others.

When the world was cold toward him, that was fine. But once the world became gentle with him, this flaw exposed itself.

Was he going to be corroded by the world's sugar coating into the mafia heiress's dog?

The confused boy followed the girl's footsteps.

The girl turned back and slowly paced in place as she waited for him.