He made motions with his hands, gesturing up and down like he was building invisible stairs. "Kenji is the Dragon."
"Of course."
"Wait.” He stopped and dropped his hands. Then, he looked around.
“What?”
“You'll never find anything you need in here. Especially not tea." He gestured around the kitchen. "You have to go to the pantry. Come on. You can get what you want while I explain."
“Al-right. . .”
One of the guards followed.
Hiro walked toward a door and pulled it open.
I nearly choked.
The room wasn't a normal-looking pantry.
It was a massive space with shelves stretching from floor to ceiling, stocked with everything imaginable. It looked like asmall, very upscale grocery store that had been transplanted into Kenji’s mansion.
And inside, two armed men stood guard.
"Well damn," I whispered.
This property was insane. Sako had never shown me this part on the tour, probably assuming I would never cook.
Hiro stepped inside like it was the most natural thing in the world to have armed guards protecting food supply. "What do you want to get?"
"Tea."
"Alright." He turned to one of the guards. "Where's the tea?"
One man pointed down an aisle to the left.
Hiro guided me that direction, and I tried not to gape at everything around me. The pantry was even organized like a luxury market—labeled sections, pristine shelves, everything from basics to exotic imports.
"So, my brother is the top of the hierarchy.”
“Yes.”
“Next, you have Reo. Honestly, he's lower than me because Kenji and I are brothers. However, officially, Reo is the Dragon's Roar."
"Understood."
"He's important, of course, but only because I allow him to be."
I couldn't help but smile. "Well, that is nice of you."
"Yeah. I know," he said it, completely seriously.
We reached the tea aisle, and I stopped, overwhelmed by the options. There were teas from every region of Japan, plus imports from China, India, England. Herbal blends. Medicinal teas. Ceremonial grades.
I started pulling things down—chamomile, green tea, ginger, honey from a shelf nearby. Then, I glanced over my shoulder. "What type of tea do you like?"
He looked surprised that I'd asked. "Any tea."
"Okay. I'll make us some tea." I grabbed a few more options. "Are you hungry?"
