Dragon Raja: Dragon Slaying Begins with System Hosting

Page 96

Erii's first attempt at cooking was not ideal.

Even someone as clever as her was flustered in the kitchen, with Xia Mi offering suggestions and solutions.

Then came the sound of something being dumped into a garbage bag... and at the same time, a slightly burnt "fragrant" aroma wafted out...

As Lu Mingfei ate his breakfast, he thought to himself that Xia Mi must have made it.

The sound of the stove being lit came again, and Xia Mi started another round of pointing and gesturing. After finishing his meal, Lu Mingfei took his rice bowl and went for a stroll.

When Xia Mi saw him enter, she took the bowl of rice he had just finished eating from his hand and said, "Lu Mingfei, you've come at the right time. Come and teach Erii how to do it."

How did you teach him?

Looking at Erii's embarrassed smile, Lu Mingfei was a little puzzled. What was so difficult about cooking? He succeeded on his first try.

"It's just my normal cooking steps, but Erii is clumsy..." Natsumi quickly shifted the blame.

She herself is only good at cooking noodles and is a mediocre cook. She mainly eats in the school cafeteria. After moving out, she either goes to Lu Mingfei's house for a free meal or goes out to buy food.

Although she spent a lot of time in the kitchen helping Lu Mingfei with odd jobs, she wasn't very skilled herself and didn't learn much of Lu Mingfei's proper cooking techniques.

"Oh." Lu Mingfei stepped forward, turned down the stove a bit, and said, "Cooking isn't actually difficult. As long as the food doesn't burn and the seasonings aren't too strong, it's fine. You can start with the most basic low heat to get used to the signs that the food is about to burn. Then, add about a spoonful of salt to each dish to at least ensure it's not too salty. You can gradually increase the amount as you get more familiar with it..."

There are actually many small tips and tricks for cooking that can help you make dishes with better color, taste, and texture... but Erii doesn't need to learn those yet.

After giving her a rough lesson, Lu Mingfei personally supervised her to finish the first dish, a very simple tomato and egg stir-fry. However, due to the heat not being quite right, the taste was just so-so, only not bad.

Erii was overjoyed, feeling that she had mastered the "cooking skills" and could cook for Lu Mingfei and her brother!

"Huh?" Xia Mi asked, watching Lu Mingfei prepare to teach Erii how to make the second dish. "Boss Lu, aren't you going to work over there today?"

Lu Mingfei replied, "Oh, I have something else to talk to Erii about today, so I'm not in a hurry to go over."

"What's going on?"

"It's because Tachibana Masamune of the Snake-Headed Eight Families suddenly abdicated, and Minamoto no Chisei took over as the head of the family."

Erii and Genjiro are siblings. Their father, Uesugi Koshi, knew that the White King was about to be revived and kept urging them to leave Japan. However, Genjiro took over the position of head of the Snake-Headed Eight Families at this critical moment and did not leave Japan like their father who wanted to escape. His stance was self-evident.

Erii looked at her with concern upon hearing this and asked in a low voice, "Did something happen?"

The reason for promoting Genjiro to power might be because he was a pro-war advocate who stayed in Japan or had other "concerns." Lu Mingfei mentioned this to Erii.

Erii's expression remained calm... as if she understood, yet also as if she didn't.

"I wonder what will happen to Japan next." Lu Mingfei sighed in front of Erii.

Erii understood and asked, "Are you planning to leave Japan?"

“This isn’t about whether I leave Japan or not. If the White King’s remains are revived…” Lu Mingfei described the troublesome situation surrounding the White King to her.

The successful resurrection of the White King is indeed a major problem for humanity. This White Emperor is no pushover. If he successfully reappears, it will certainly cause some panic. For example, even a slight shake of Japan's foundation could lead to significant damage to Japan.

After thinking for a moment, Erii still couldn't figure it out, so she asked Lu Mingfei somewhat blankly, "Then what should I do?"

For Erii, saving the world seemed to have nothing to do with her; having lived in the intensive care unit all her life, she had never had that concept.

However, the stark contrast between Uesugi Kotsugi's desire to escape and his brother Genji's insistence on fighting aroused her suspicion.

“I don’t know you.” Lu Mingfei shook his head honestly.

He said he wasn't acting or trying to fool Erii; he was just simply telling her about it.

Whether she goes with Uesugi Koshi or stays in Japan with Genjiro, Lu Mingfei will not influence her choice.

Having lived in the intensive care unit since childhood, Erii was already pitiful enough for Lu Mingfei; he didn't want to impose his will on her.

Lu Mingfei has never been a hard-hearted person, let alone having witnessed the wickedness of people's hearts at his uncle's house.

Otherwise, tricking Erii into returning to the Snake Clan to extract the latest information from them would definitely be a wonderful option.

Erii didn't know what to do either. She had known about the White King's resurgence before, but she hadn't thought about what to do. She just wanted to run out and tell Lu Mingfei about it.

She didn't know what to do next, but she also knew that someone would tell her what to do.

She hadn't made any choices of her own in the Snake Clan because the family didn't want her to leave. She hadn't even left her hospital room... That alloy door, comparable to a bank vault door, was indeed a difficult hurdle for ordinary people and ordinary hybrids, but it really couldn't hold this little monster back. No matter how sturdy the alloy door was, it couldn't withstand the impact of the judgment. She might even be able to force her way out with her physical strength alone.

Aside from choosing between playing games or watching TV, the most independent choice she ever made was running away from home, and that was it...

Since Lu Mingfei didn't interfere with her choice, Erii immediately thought of going back to ask her brother.

So she said, "Should I go home and ask my brother?"

"of course can."

Lu Mingfei sighed inwardly. In the end, Erii followed the system's plan.

Latest system analysis: [...Eri, this little monster, possesses such immense strength, yet she has remained peacefully within the Snake-Headed Eight Families, never exercising the authority of the family head. She clearly desires to be free and play, yet chose to run away from home. She must be someone who has no understanding of "me"...]

To put it bluntly, she was like a child who never grew up in the Snake Clan. Although her body was constantly maturing and developing, psychologically she was still a child who was used to accepting the arrangements of her family and had never taken the lead in her life.

That's why she chose to run away from home to travel. By running away from home, without the pressure of her family making choices for her, she felt "free."

The system correctly analyzed another person's inner thoughts, which made Lu Mingfei feel rather...uncomfortable.

"I want to learn how to cook before I go back," Erii whispered. "To give my brother a...surprise?"

"it is good."

Lu Mingfei continued to instruct Erii on how to cook.

If you want to learn quickly in a short time, you can't avoid hands-on guidance and control... That's what the system thought, but Lu Mingfei took out a spoon again and stood beside her to assist her.

"If the fire gets too big, you can stir-fry it quickly..."

"If you're worried about adding too much seasoning due to shaky hands, you can pour some onto a spoon first to check if it's too much before adding more..."

Lu Mingfei did everything he could to ensure that the three of them had a lunch of four dishes and a soup, as well as Japanese five-colored fried rice.

Erii put her previous doubts behind her and happily ate with the two of them.

Chapter 128 My Sister's Special Friend

"Master Uesugi!"

Anyone who knows Erii Uesugi should quickly greet her.

"Hmm." Uesugi Erii gave a soft "hmm" and walked into the gate of Genji Heavy Industries, causing the person who greeted her to be slightly taken aback. Wasn't the head of the Uesugi family supposed to be unable to speak?

Having survived the massive search, Erii was naturally a household name in the Snake Clan and Genji Heavy Industries. Without any obstacles, she calmly entered the elevator and pressed the button for the 21st floor.

But she couldn't press the button for the 21st floor because it was a card-operated elevator...

A junior member of the Snake-Headed Eight Family saw Erii standing in the elevator, which was not moving, and immediately understood what was going on. He carefully came over, swiped his card for her, and asked, "Head of the Uesugi family, are you going to the 21st floor?"

"Yes, thank you." Erii thanked her expressionlessly, like a robot.

The elevator doors closed, leaving the middle-aged man with a somewhat astonished expression. He was simply wondering, wasn't the head of the Uesugi family supposed to be silent? Could it be...?

He didn't know that Uesugi Erii's Word of Power was Judgment. Previously, due to her unstable bloodline, speaking would trigger Judgment, which would accidentally harm those around her.

Otherwise, he wouldn't be fantasizing that the head of the Uesugi family was interested in him; instead, he would be breaking out in a cold sweat, checking himself to see if anything was missing...

When the elevator reached the 21st floor and opened, the doctor and nurses who saw Erii were all surprised and greeted her in a low voice, "Head of the Uesugi family, you're back."

The doctor was someone Erii knew, so she nodded slightly and asked, "Um, where's my brother?"

Upon hearing Erii speak, the doctor broke out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, no strange noises, such as axe chopping, knife slicing, or screams, came out. After wiping the cold sweat from his brow and calming himself down, the doctor said, "The head of the Genji family... shouldn't be at Genji Heavy Industries right now. Should I go and contact him?"

Under the doctor's apprehensive gaze, Erii spoke softly again, "Yes, please contact my brother for me, thank you."

Her tone and expression were quite stable.

Suddenly, an idea popped into the doctor's mind: since nothing unexpected happened, could it be that Miss Erii's health problem had been resolved during this trip?

The doctor jogged off to contact Yuan Zhisheng.

Genjiro was indeed not at Genji Heavy Industries. As the acting patriarch, his job was not only to sit in the office and process documents, but also to go out and inspect the grounds to see if there were any abnormalities.

Sending a report in advance and making hasty arrangements for reception shows that they still care about him, this young patriarch who has suddenly risen to power. If they don't do anything...

But when he heard from the doctor that Erii had returned and was still looking for him, he turned back home.

"You're back."

"Hmm, is there something you need that you suddenly came back for?"

Genjiro showed no surprise at Erii's sudden return, as if Erii hadn't run away from home for four days, but had simply gone out for a stroll after a meal.

“My friend said that you, brother, are taking on the role of the head of the family because you're planning to stay in Japan and fight the White King.”

“Mm.” Yuan Zhisheng nodded, not denying it.

It seems pointless how Erii's friends knew he had become the head of the family or how they knew about the White King's existence.

Ironically, because of Uesugi Kotsugi, only the orthodox Hebi family, the Snake-Headed Eight Families, were unaware of the White King's Sacred Relic... The Oni Clan knew about it, as did Herzog in the nameless port of Siberia. These "outsiders" knew more than the Snake-Headed Eight Families.

Kassel College may not have a very clear understanding of the White King's remains, but they most likely know about the White King's bloodline.

He used to not think deeply about many things, but after becoming the acting patriarch, he discovered that the Snake Clan was really... not so easy? This ancient dragon blood family, which had been in decline for decades, only had its bloodline left.

This left Genjiro somewhat... he didn't know how to describe his feelings.

Because it was his biological father, Uesugi Koshi, who caused the Snake-Headed Eight Families to lose sixty years, but can Uesugi Koshi be entirely blamed? Did the Snake-Headed Eight Families, like Uesugi Koshi, have no fault?

Just like the chicken-or-egg dilemma, it's a paradoxical situation.

However, Genjiro didn't intend to delve into anything. He wasn't an illiterate who hadn't read a few books and couldn't understand the world, nor was he a Russian with a purely binary mindset.

Erii asked softly, "What about me?"

Genji looked at his younger sister and remained silent for a moment.

He paused for a moment before asking, "Is your bloodline issue resolved?"

As soon as he asked the question, he remembered that Erii had not received formal education on bloodlines. Just as he was about to add something, Erii interrupted, "It's not completely cured. He said it's just a temporary suppression and will need maintenance later. But in the current situation, it should be able to last for a year or two without any problems."

Genjiro's slightly open mouth turned to him as he said, "Could you bring your friend to meet me? I mean him no harm, I just want to ask him a few questions."

Erii glanced at Genjiro's eyes, which remained expressionless, and then nodded gently.

When Yuan Zhisheng saw her nod, he seemed to remember something and sighed inwardly.

Erii's mind is still a blank slate, or rather, her understanding is still insufficient. She hasn't even said anything like, "I need to ask him," but something still seems off...

He took out his phone and handed it to Erii, saying, "Just let me know when he's coming. Here, take this phone; it has my number saved on it. You can call me directly if anything happens."